Northern Rail Trail

Description

Along the Trail eastbound from Lebanon:

• First of seven crossings of Mascoma River in Lebanon.
• Pass under I-89, enter wooded valley of the Mascoma.
• Scenic Mill Road and kayak course at twin bridges.
• Dam at East Lebanon, a bustling sawmill village from 1780-1840. First views of Mascoma Lake.
• Ice House Road, site of B&M RR Mascoma Depot and sidings. Parking with access from Route 4.
• Views down lake to Shaker Bridge, built 1849 to give Enfield colony access to the railroad, of which it was a stockholder.
• The Cut. Initials carved in stone date from widening in 1890s. Spectacular ice formations in winter.
• Enfield town center. Freight shed now a laundromat. Depot ahead, with 1950s creamery opposite. Services.
• Baltic Mill and dam. Made woolen cloth for outerwear and blankets, 1890s-1970s.
• Blackwater Road. Mascoma River canoe access.
• South Road, Crystal Lake three miles south.
• Indian River high bridge.
• Canaan town center. Depot and freight house. Services.
• Mirror Lake, views of Cardigan Mountain.
• Orange Cut, high point on Northern Line, 968 feet.
• Trail tunnel under Route 4, opened 2001.
• Riddle Hill Road to Ruggles Mine. Mica and minerals.
• Grafton. Limited services.
• Merrimack County line, Danbury.
• Danbury to West Franklin, via packed granite surfacing.
• Trail currently continues south to a point just north of the Boscawen/Concord city line

Other Information

Of the three rail corridors laid out west and north from Concord in central NH to points on the Connecticut River, the Northern Railroad survived the longest. It was completed in 1847, with Daniel Webster giving the keynote address in downtown Lebanon, at a spot just a few yards from where the trail begins today. The fare to Boston via Lowell, Massachussetts was $4. As with so many other early railroads, the Northern was plagued with financial difficulty thoughout its early history. Acquired by the Boston & Maine in 1887, the line flourished for about forty years, largely due to its terminus at White River Junction, Vermont, the regional rail hub. With the Depression, the Northern Branch joined hundreds of other American railroads in a long decline toward oblivion.

Passenger service ended in 1965, with a few freight runs operating into the early 1970s. The B&M stopped maintaining the line and soon abandoned it. In 1996, sixty miles of the corridor were acquired by the State of New Hampshire for $5 million in Federal transportation enhancement funds, to be converted to a recreation trail.

Within a few months, local snowmobile clubs had decked bridges and removed obstacles, opening the entire length to winter use. Luckily for the redevelopment of the trail for warm weather use, the railroad had invested little in ballasting the Grafton County section of the line with heavy stone. The fine black cinders that cover most of the surface between Lebanon and Lake Mascoma today date from before 1950, when the waste product from coal-fired steam engines was spread between the crossties to dampen vibration and soften the ride. By 2000, volunteers working with the local support group had removed the ties and graded the cinders in the western half of the corridor, making twelve miles walkable and bikeable. The stone dust portions of the trail, which are mostly east of Enfield, were applied more recently, using state grants, foundation gifts, and private fundraising. The "last mile" of stone dust was laid in 2010 in Grafton, as the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail began to shift from trail building to trail maintenance. A connection to the Merrimack County section of the trail in Danbury was completed in 2010 and further surfacing improvements were completed on a few portions in Merrimack County in  2011. The trail was extended 2.5 miles, ending at Holy Cross Road, just off Route 3 in West Franklin.

The Northern Rail Trail now goes a total of 59 miles from Lebanon to just north of the Boscawen/Concord city line; 23 miles in Grafton County and 34 in Merrimack. The extension of the trail to the west as a portion of the Mascoma River Greenway is actively being pursued by the City of Lebanon. The ultimate hope is to connect downtown Lebanon with West Lebanon via the rail corridor, perhaps to include a rail-with-trail configuration.

The Northern Rail Trail currently extends south to a trail terminus 1/2 mile north of the Hannah Dustin Park & Ride off exit 17 from I-93.

Overview map with mile post marker locations

Section maps

Trail Manager

Visit the Northern Rail Trail or the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail online for more information and printable maps or contact: