How long is the nashua river

This will by my trail of choice for a while, I'm sure! I am very lucky to live 10 minutes from this trail. I biked this trail all last summer and have biked it 4 times this spring.

I would suggest starting your ride in Hollis, NH. This makes the return trip easy with some down hills. On weekends this trail can get busy and some familys and groups do tend to forget that there are others that they need to share the road with.

Looking forward to returning to the trail for this years training. I rode this trail today. Left good about the trail. There is ample parking right at the start of the trail. The trail is marked for the distance also for the bumps and cracks. This trail kind of goes along a river, it was wonderful to stop and watch the water. There is an extremly busy road after 9 miles or so which I had to wait for a long time to cross.

There is no walk sign, we are to cross if the cars stop for us. The road is big too. Rode this trail for about two time now. I have been biking and rollerblading the Nashua River Trail for a few years now, from Ayer to Pepperell and back. Over the years I have seen it become more crowded, which is overall great that the trails are getting so much use and becoming popular.

I appreciate that this is a family time, a very safe place for kids to ride their bikes. As one, who is likely biking twice as fast as your child, and likely faster than most adults, I would appreciate the same courtesies to be shown to me, as you would expect me to show to you and your family.

It is a luxury to ride side by side, please be courteous if someone is trying to pass you. Slowing down, is not allowing space, it just means I catch up to you faster. Move to the right, does not mean if you were on the left, move to the middle, it means move the right, so someone can safely pass you. This weekend I got caught up, emotionally, and yelled at someone as I passed them. At one time a 6 or 7 year old child, riding with his family, was riding directly at me.

I am riding around 15mph - if you see someone coming towards your child, have them move over as soon as you see someone approaching. These parents said nothing to their child- despite me waving my hand and yelling at him to move over multiple times. And yes, I did slow down. I should not have had to. Please be responsible. I don't want to have to be rude, please don't give me reason to.

If there are 4 of you, please stay to the right. If you are talking you will not hear me come up behind you. Be aware of your surroundings and let each of us enjoy the rail trail at our own pace!

This is a beautiful trail, especially this time of year. I highly recommend it for biking, rollerblading and families. I walked 20 miles Thursday and 10 on Friday. My first time visiting. Though sometimes it seemed crowded, this trail was a very pleasant way to spend a day riding. My husband and I were visiting the area and wanted to do some cycling. He purchased his first recumbent bike and was still a novice at riding it.

In his words, "It was the straightest, most level road in New England! The scenery was magnificent and it was nice to ride somewhere that autos weren't allowed. I'm looking forward to return trips! I rode the entire lenght of the NRRT today. It was a wonderful ride on a beautiful day. When the budget permits, the mile markers on the road need to be re-painted and larger please.

They are unreadable. Thank you for providing such a wonderful resource. David Fitzpatrick Sterling, MA. I have found that the parking lots in Ayer are full.

If you are early sometimes you can park behind the bank. Please ask for the managers permission. The police will ticket you if you park on the side roads If you find the parking lots full, you can get back on Route and go towards Groton. Turn right on Broadmeadow Road. The R. The Nashua River Trail is a favorite. It runs along the Nashua River duh for most of its length.

There are few road crossings and lots of ponds to observe and woods to go through. The bad news is that news of the trail is getting out so more people will be using it in the future. I guess that's not really all that bad. Gorgeous trail in reasonably good conditions - few frost heaves but the worst are marked. To eric 87," there" Some good dog owners such as myself walk on the right edge of the trail with my dog to the right of me on the grass.

My dog has never gone near a bike. If there are bad dog owners on the trail then they should not be there. Sometimes I wish there was a cop on the trail. There is a huge difference between jerks with agressive dogs and people with well trained house pets. I don't know what you "heard" but whenever I have walked or biked the trail I have had the most trouble with people on bikes thinking they owned the trail. Even if I walk without my dog I have almost been hit by people trying to ride three across.

The trail is for everyone and we all need to be mindful of who is there. If a dog runs in front of a bike then the dog owner should be sued for a hefty amount. Good dog owners such as myself have no tolerance for bad ones. I love this trail. And I just wanted to say to Stephen there that I've heard of a lot more problems with dogs hitting bicyclists and crashing them out , than with bicyclists hitting people, on the Minuteman in particular.

I biked the Nashua R. Trail on Monday June 30th. Three trees were across the trail and were being taking care of by a local crews. I asked the officer where to park when the lot was full. He suggested downtown behind some of the business by the RR tracks? I would suggest that people look at a map and find other parking lots along the trail. The rest of the lots only have one or two cars in them and their is plenty of spaces. Their is another parking lot by Dunkin Donuts but that one is usually full also.

Good Luck Marilyn Drisko. The trail is less busy than other trails I have been on such as minuteman. You can walk the dog without fear of bikes hitting you. Our favorite rail trail and now even more so thanks to the FUN engineer and lovely woman who wears her helmet backwards who stopped to help me with my flat tire. Thanks so much for spending a part of your labor day with us! It is a great trail for families. Bathroom facilities are in Ayer.

This is a friendly trail and saying hello to everyone you come upon is a rule. Pepperell is great stop for dinner or ice cream. Sure wish the town or state would get after the landowner who left couch and trash beside trail. It's an eyesore. Some scenic highlights include the large pond and beaver dam at mile 2.

The trail also passes several horse farms and an orchard. I personally find the northern end of the trail much more attractive and uncrowded than the southern end. The trail is most densely wooded and shady in Dunstable and Pepperell better for hot summer days ; the vegetation is scrubbier near Ayer and the landscape is dominated in several spots by large arrays of power lines.

For this reason, as well as the fact that Ayer offers public restroom facilities and places to get food, I think it's best to start from the trail's northern terminus, so you can stop to recharge at Ayer and then head back northward. I'm so glad to live near this gem of a trail! It's a real perk for anyone who lives in northern Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire. Ride it if you can. This is a great trail but they really do need to add restrooms at the NH end of the trail Unfortunately, people are starting to park on the grass, in the walkways and in the handicapped spaces, which is ultimately going to attract the wrong kind of attention to this trail.

On weekdays, many T commuters park in this lot all day, so parking spaces don't open up until around PM or later. Street parking on Rt. On evenings and weekends, you can often park in the bank parking lot on Rt. Alternatively, there is almost always plenty of space in the unpaved parking area next to the trail near Groton center at Broadmeadow Road. We use the trail at least once a week if not more, my only comment is that they need more restrooms.

You only have the two at the Ayer end but nothing beyond that. I know that occasionally the gas station in Pepperell center will allow you to use the restrooms but they don't always. So on those occasions, there is nothing until you get back to the Ayer parking lot.

Some times when you do the entire lenght you need to make a stop before getting back there and there is no place to go! Typically less crowded, and with fewer road crossings than the relatively nearby Minuteman rail-trail, yet the length is similar. This creates a potentially dangerous situation. Minuteman has dashed center lines clearly marked over most of its length, in addition to numerous ""keep right"" signs, whereas the Nashua River trail has almost none.

This is a popular trail with dog walkers and families, as well as bikers and rollerbladers. Most people make a great effort of keep everyone in their group on the right side of the path -- particularly when they see a another biker or rollerblader coming. We go down and rollerblade after work a couple of nites a week. We love the trail! What a great trail to ride. I only ran into a few people riding and one group of walkers. The pavement is well taken care of. This trail wanders through swampland, beaver dam ponds, rivers by a waterfall and by several farms and one small town that has a rail trail ice cream shop and water.

This is one of the best family friendly and safe trails I have taken my kids to. Each child can go at a speed that works for them. I can let my older son race ahead and my girls can lag toward the back. I don't have to worry that a car is in waiting around each bend. It was a pleasant and interesting ride, good surface for my thin road tires, and easy on the legs mine being nearly At the NH border there was a sign that seemed to discourage one from going further north, even though the pavement continued.

It's too bad, though, that the trail is not open to snowmobilers. Snowmobilers tend to bring big business to the Pepperell Center.

I do not see this trail being used during the winter. We have ridden many rail-trails and I must say this is one of the nicest. The surface is great and the scenery is beautiful. I highly recommend it. This is a great trail. I try to get out there once a week.

I've noticed that the bathrooms are still open and that's great! I hope they stay open and don't get locked. I never get tired of going to this bike path. I enjoy watching people riding horses, looking at nice ponds and viewing the hawks flying around. A couple of friends and I do this trail at least four times a year.

With the addition of a path from the parking lot heading north to or south from NH besides the current trail, there is now a ""Y"" intersection so caution should be exercised. New yield or stop signs will likely be put up soon. We ride the Pepperell to Ayer section nearly every weekend.

Nice options for extensions into Devens mirror lake rec. This is only a short distance from the Fruitlands Shaker Museum in Harvard, a great destination. Continue to Rt. The commuter rail station in Ayer provides many other options and you can take you bike on the train too - except at rush hour. Go straight ahead on the original rail line when the paved trail turns right to the parking lot at the dunstable end. Follow dirt path to Rt A, left on A, left on towards pepperell , cross river, airport about a mile or so on left.

The weather was perfect and there was beautiful scenery, including a field full of pumpkins. The trail is so new, there are no bumps at all. It was a perfect New England day! One comment, though: from Pepperell center south for about one mile there is the odor of raw sewage and I suspect it comes from some housing along the area. I hope something can be done about this soon.

The trail is beautiful and so is the wild life. Turtles and a beaver lodge are just a few. The trail's a great way to spend an afternoon to get some exercise or just to relax! I have kick-biked the trail numerous times and ran out and back once. What a great place to train and have fun. It is a nice wide pathway. There are many places to stop and eat and enjoy nature. I've done the cycling at off-peak times and not in the main busy areas Ayer, Pepperell parking lots , but rollerblading is a blast at any time.

The path is not that crowded yet. The trail tends to get a lot of debris in certain areas that can make blading Also, it doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of street crossings to interrupt you, and it has some longer stretches between street crossings that tend to get fewer people because of the distance. All in all a terrific trail! Everyone was smiling, saying ""Good morning"" and chatting up a storm. They have good reason to smile. This is a beautiful trail, with lovely stretches along the river and lots of woodland much of the trail travels through State Forest land.

At one point we saw a fox dart across the trail. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Great location for a very easy and scenic ride through woods. The pavement is shaded by the trees making the ride comfortable even on the hottest days. The stop signs along the way are well marked when you come to a street crossing. I would recommend this trail to anyone and their families.

The downtown Groton and Pepperell sections are quite busy with bikes including some local police patrolling on bike , rollerblades, parents with strollers, hikers and the occasional horse and rider. I saw a deer yesterday right at the Hollis line as I was showing it to someone else.

The trail is smooth as glass and has almost no hills the entire way. There are some great mountain biking trails to the right or left at different parts of the trail that tend to reconnect to the trail at later points.

You may be lucky and catch the beaver swimming about in a nearby swamp in the town of Groton. I also saw 2 wild turkeys early one morning. Roux's Market in Ayer offers 25 cent Ice Cream and is a great place to catch a snack. The Bike Shop has two stores right off of the trail in Ayer and Pepperel if you need to pick up some emergency equipment. Log in Register. Search trails Close. Register Now. Nashua River Rail Trail Facts. States: Massachusetts, New Hampshire.

Trail end points: Park St. Ayer, MA and Gilson Rd. Nashua, NH. Trail surfaces: Asphalt. Quick Links:. Submit Photo. Submit Review. Trail is well marked with signs telling you where you are, history and distance the other stations. Bicycle Path has several of these stations on route. July 26, A beautiful day on a great trail. Around the 9 mile mark from Nashua. This section of the trail is beautiful. Colorful flowers can be found near the water.

A pretty section of cattails line both sides of the trail. Only miles to Portland, ME. Learning history along the trail. Challenge your limits.

Submitted by umesh. A well spent Sunday morning! Got a couple of turtle 'snaps' sorry, I couldn't resist! I got a couple of 'snaps' sorry I couldn't resist! Submitted by navas.

October 20, perfect weather, wonderful color, an amazing day on the trail. Finding a pumpkin patch along the trail was so much fun and such a treat to see. I do like to see the history of the old train lines along the trail.

Historic railroad marker. One of several rest stops with benches. This one, in Groton, affords a particularly nice, serene view. Park your bike using this bike rack and relax a bit along the trail This was a group ride that started in Ayer.

Nashua River early fall View Classic Gallery Submit Photo. October dkberard. Could use a repaving for bikes September mrowley6. August lance. Good trail, but it is bumpy July brian Trail needs resurfacing for biking July sunrayeng. Nice trail October italy2. September bcard Nice ride through nature and small towns July sharnjeff. Nice, level ride through woods and marshes July vlh2. Great Trail and Fun for All Levels! June nhsteeler. One of thee best!

May matthewgray. Disappointing April bbbluhmmm Great trail, not crazy about the parking June albern The Bumps are Better June allankamieneski. My favorite trail April ladycolter.

Quiet scenic for a full workout October ptk Great for Biking and Running! July rdows Beautiful trail October grubb. Great trail September navas. Nice ride. August cookielovenh.

Needs resurfacing July Captainmux. Description of facilities June jensimoneau. Was a nice ride April chrisnoway. Quiet Place to Ride September rongovian. My thoughts September lawrance. Pee first - but also bring water September soongx2.

Great Trail But August dhgeyer. Rough Ride August mrprbush. Beautiful August terezajaquez. Nice Trail August tdecoste. Great little ride June wrateman. Beautiful and calm April jensd The Best Trail Ever February carrollwombat.

I have done this trail at least times. Is it melted yet? November elizabethconley. Correction - excellent trail November fishface What trail? October fishface Serious bumps and holes October robertbike.

Nice trail, but August dalex Five stars to offset the previous one star review August loconnor Poor trail August nlbrock. A Bit Bumpy in Spots July kathyb Nashua River Rail Trail maintenance July dwilliams Awesome Trail May alleekat Great for biking,running,walking. April martha. Beautiful Trail but too early to ride it!

April shahbazsoofi. Scenic Ride October donna. Nashua River Rail Trail August vincentj. Nice Sunday Bike Ride August ritazolubos. Great ride August deeminder. Fastest mile trail July slipsoup.

Fun trail June sjkirby. June cgraz. Bear June ginnybunk. Great Trail May back2bikes. It's a great trail May ntai. One of my favorites. Idea for side-trip May Ratbas. Nashua to Groton May kilarney. Cool Summer Ride April dro23a. Great trail! October karimkovacevic. A great trail if they resurface sooner than later October kilarney. We rode this rail 2 trail in early September October mrfootbag September ecameron Best in the East September robertfeder.

My kids' favorite trail August sbendrix. Easy Ride August melsandy. Great family afternoon August 8myusername. Another awesome rail trail! July janbrown. Great trail July simmonr. Great lengthy ride with minimal stops May giantxlrider. We Love it May glthw8. May rothman Early Spring Conditions April beth My favorite trail March dcellbatteries.

December p51vincent. Beautiful, accessible countryside trail September msandman Great trail August jbriggs Great Trail!! July urlaubds. Our current favorite trail May jonbower.

Nice Ride! April stig. May bonestorm. Great Trail April dsainato. Will bike again trail October skywalker. Photos Nashua River Trail August mberthia comcast. Nice Easy Trail! June madtrikeelf. One of my favorites April t3weaver. More on the water quality of our rivers and streams. Watershed Drop Box Locations. Learn More. The only source of funding for these grants is the sale of Environmental License Plates. Learn more about MET. Our programs are sponsored in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council , a state agency.

Home Who We Are. Mission and History. What is a Watershed? Sub-basin Plan. Ways to Give Auction. Overview Gift Options. Sample Language for Bequests. Mileage: Nashua River The Nashua River watershed is located in north-central Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, encompassing 32 communities. Still, white winters, subtle shades of spring green, lazy summer days, autumns lit with color, rivers in the Northeast showcase the seasons.

Society GIS Mapping.