Hedgehog Mountain
I’m happy to be a member of the Forest Society as well as the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition. (The two organizations are otherwise unrelated.) From that, you can guess that I love finding good places to hike anywhere in the state.
I’m a big fan of the Society’s “5 Hikes Challenge,” which will be held once again this late summer into fall. I’ll be signing up, and I look forward to visiting some favorite rail trails as I head to Forest Society properties. Here are two possible trail pairings, and maybe they’ll give you some ideas for your own adventures. If you are already working on the NHRTC’s Rail Trails Challenge, so much the better.
Deering: Hedgehog Mountain and the Hillsborough Recreational Trail. To reach the Forest Society’s Hedgehog Mountain property, I climb uphill a little more than a mile from a tiny parking area in Deering to get to a bird’s-eye view of the Contoocook River valley. Mount Monadnock is visible in the distance. The traffic below on busy U.S. 202 is concealed by all the greenery flanking the highway and river. If I’m up for a longer up-and-down ridge hike – and if I have a companion with whom I can spot a car – I can hike all the way to the Society’s High Five property five miles away.
But I generally favor flatter paths, so after a visit to Hedgehog Mountain I can drive a few miles to Fish and Game Road for a trailhead on the unpaved Hillsborough Recreational Trail. The trail is eight miles long and extends from Hillsboro through Deering to Bennington. It passes by farms, under trees, and even past a small airport. Keep an eye out for Crotched Mountain in the distance.
Concord: Merrimack River Conservation Area and a segment of the Concord-Sunapee Rail Trail. If you’ve ever driven north out of downtown Concord on U.S. 3, you’ve probably driven by 25 Fisherville Road (a short distance past Sewall’s Falls Road) without even realizing it. It’s worth finding! A small but well-defined parking area marks the east end of a pleasant unpaved trail that extends a little over two miles. This is one segment of what will one day be the complete Concord-Sunapee rail trail.
Ready for another short walk? Stay in Concord and head to the east side of the Merrimack River off of I-93’s exit 16. Look for the Forest Society’s headquarters and educational center on Portsmouth Street. Trails wind through the property and lead to the riverside, within view of the highway. Birds and wildlife thrive there.
The Forest Society’s 2023 “5 Hikes Challenge” runs from August 31 to October 31. The Rail Trails Challenge is ongoing, with no deadline.
Photos and text by NHRTC Treasurer, Ellen Kolb. Read more on her blog: http://granitestatewalker.com/