Eight miles of Rail Trail from North Hampton to Portsmouth: Excitement builds

PORTSMOUTH — It’s been 17 years since the initiative began to turn an abandoned stretch of the former Pan Am Railways that runs from Seabrook to Portsmouth into an off-road trail through the Seacoast.

The New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway, which is more commonly known as the Rail Trail, is expected to officially open its first completed section of the Rail Trail sometime this fall.

Members of the nonprofit New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway Alliance visited part of that roughly 8-mile section from the Hampton/North Hampton border to Portsmouth earlier this week.

Scott Bogle, a senior transportation planner with the Rockingham Planning Commission, spoke this week at one of the Rail Trail’s trailheads at the city’s new Skate Park, which is located off Route 33.

“It’s exciting to see this come to fruition because there’s been a lot of people who have worked on this for many years,” Bogle said during an interview on the trail late Tuesday morning.

Rail Trail expected to be popular with locals and tourists

Bogle expects the Rail Trail “will be very popular, certainly for residents within each of the towns along the way being able to get around within town.”

“But then we think it will also attract a lot of visitors. It’s nicely located halfway between Boston and Portland,” Bogle said. “If somebody wants to take a cycling vacation, they can bike up, spend the night, have dinner in Portsmouth and then bike back home.”

“We’re excited for the whole range of people we think it will attract,” Bogle added.

The stone dust surface for the Rail Trail has been laid along the entire 8-mile stretch from the Hampton/North Hampton border to Portsmouth, according to David Allen, Portsmouth’s former deputy city manager and a board member of the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway Alliance.

The trail is roughly 12 feet wide throughout the nearly completed stretch, Allen said.

Can dogs use Seacoast Rail Trail?

The stone dust offers trail users a firm surface that is ideal for running, walking, biking, pushing a baby carriage, or walking your dog, as long as it's leashed, Allen said.

“The city just posted signs at the entrances on to the trail, reminding people about the dog ordinance, which states that dogs must be on a leash, and you must pick up after your dog,” Allen said. “They were getting complaints down at City Hall and Public Works, and the animal control officer was out here policing this area two weeks ago.”

“It’s an education thing,” Allen added.

Trail will be open 24/7

There are no set hours for when people can use the Rail Trail, Allen said, it’s always open.

“If you want to go for a walk at 3 a.m., have at it,” Allen said.

Although the completed portion of the Rail Trail will not be officially opened until the fall, people are already using it, he said.

“If you walk down there at any time, there are people on it, whether they’re on bikes, walking or running, but technically it’s not open,” Allen said.

In addition to the stone dust, crews have “already put down the seed and mulch along the sides of the trail to dress up the top surfaces,” Allen said.

There are also posts with the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway logo that are being posted along the trail every tenth of a mile, Allen said.

The posts will not only let people know how far they’ve walked or biked, but will also help rescuers in the case of an emergency, he said.

“That way someone can be easily located,” Allen said.

Crews from the city’s Department of Public Works have helped on that part of the project, Allen said, as has Portsmouth High School’s Cycling team.

An off-road journey through Portsmouth

The more than 3-mile stretch that runs in the city will take people on routes throughout Portsmouth, Allen said, including underneath Route 33.

“It’s pretty much in the woods, there’s some real beautiful areas, like when you go through the Great Bog,” Allen said. “But you’re also in some backyards and through some neighborhoods. There’s a stretch that runs parallel to Islington Street, but a lot of it feels like you’re deep in the woods for sure.”

Other potential trailheads in the city, according to Portsmouth’s webpage on the project, include Barberry Lane, Borthwick Avenue, Banfield Road and Ocean Road.

Bogle, from the Rockingham Planning Commission, said people working on the project “have been talking about it as a safe transportation route, as a linear park, as an economic catalyst.”

Mayor Deaglan McEachern thinks the Rail Trail will attract even more people to Portsmouth.

“I think it’s going to be a big boom,” McEachern said during an interview Wednesday. “The fact you can get to the skatepark on it, that’s great too.”

He sees the Rail Trail being enjoyed by a variety of people, some riding bikes, some walking or running.

“I don’t think people mind people, they mind cars,” he said. “I think that Portsmouth wasn’t necessarily built for cars. If more people can enjoy Portsmouth and walk around or take a bike ride … we’d love to see more people with less cars.”

From what he’s seen of the Rail Trail it looks “pretty impressive.”

“It’s a testament to city, state and the federal government coming together to work on this,” he said, noting all three contributed funds to the project.

“As a dad to some youngsters who are learning their way on bikes, it’s a great place for them to feel confident and comfortable riding as a family,” McEachern said. “I think it’s going to be fantastic.”

Rail Trail will be 17 miles when completed

Alliance board member Sally Baybutt called it “extremely satisfying” to see the Rail Trail “getting to this point, where it’s functional.”

“In the beginning especially, it was so slow, like you said it was never going to happen, so it’s very, very exciting,” she said during an interview on the trail Tuesday.

People in the community she’s heard from about the initiative are also excited.

“We’re in a nice position where people are expressing interest where they want to help,” she said.

Hampton's 1.7-mile portion of the rail trail to Seabrook is currently in the design phase. According to officials, the goal is to start construction on that leg of the project in 2025.

The project when finished will be a 17-mile network of rail trails and bikeways connecting the communities of Seabrook, Hampton Falls, Hampton, North Hampton, Rye, Greenland and Portsmouth. It's a small part of the larger East Coast Greenway project, which is intended to connect off-road trails from Maine to the Florida Keys.

To learn more about the project or donate, visit the Alliance’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/nhseacoastgreenway/.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Excitement builds for Rail Trail from North Hampton to Portsmouth