Windham Rail Trail--Mitchell Pond

Windham Rail Trail--Mitchell Pond

Windham, New Hampshire 03087

Windham Rail Trail Official Website
Windham Rail Trail map

Birds of Interest

Walking south along the rail bed from the parking area will bring you through mixed hardwood forest and past various wetlands straddling the rail bed, though some are difficult to view from the main trail itself. Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher are fairly numerous nesters here and can be expected on trips between May and September. The wetlands nearby hold nesting Wood Duck, Green Heron, Virginia Rail, and others. Migrant passerines can be an obvious presence in the spring and fall and Mitchell Pond frequently holds migrant waterfowl.

About this Location

The former rail bed (now a paved, multi-use trail) to Mitchell Pond is an easy level hike of around three miles each way that provides some good woodland and wetland birding.

From I-93 exit 3, take a left (heading west) on route 111 for 1.5 miles. Take a right on Church Road and then quickly a right onto North Lowell Road. Follow this for 2.4 miles to the intersection with Depot Road. There is a country store at the corner. If you reach a gas station, you’ve gone a shade too far.

The old Boston and Maine rail bed can be accessed from near the intersection of Depot Road and North Lowell Road. First, the Taylor Farm just south of the intersection has nesting Bobolinks among others, and may be worth a quick stop. From there, go and park in the lot south of Depot Road a few hundred yards east of the intersection.

About Windham Rail Trail

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The Windham Rail Trail passes through the woodsy periphery of Windham in southern New Hampshire, but it sits in the heart of the future cross-state Granite State Rail Trail. Its connections to the Derry Rail Trail in the north and the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor in the south make up the longest paved section, 10 miles, of a future 125-mile route between Massachusetts and Vermont that will combine several trails.

The trail follows a railbed taken out of service by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1980. Rail service first came to Windham in the 1840s with the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad, which carried freight and passengers to the growing industrial belt. A 3-mile section through Windham cost the most to build because of extensive rock cutting and the filling of lowlands. The Boston and Maine gained control in 1887. After the line fell into disuse, it became a gravel multiuse trail; Windham finished paving the path in 2016.

At the northern trailhead near the Derry town line, explore the Boston and Maine Railroad C-16 caboose and the restored 1849 Windham Depot and freight terminal. The station served the busy junction between the Manchester and Lawrence Division and the Worcester, Nashua & Portland Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad. Today the trailhead serves as a rail-trail crossroads with the Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail (Fremont Branch), see page 139, heading northeast and the future Windham Greenway heading west.

You’ll meet the Derry Rail Trail 0.2 miles northwest of the trailhead. That paved trail continues north 4 miles into downtown Derry. In the other direction, the trail passes between the old station and freight house and enters a wooded area that borders most of the path.

You’ll pass two marshy areas as you follow Flatrock Brook and cross over Mallard Road in the first mile. Mitchell Pond comes into view on the right in .8 mile. This area presented problems for the railroad builders as the railbed kept sinking into a meadow. Not far past the pond, you’ll fall into the shade of the first pass-through rock, which also slowed railroad construction.

Scottish immigrants began settling in the Windham area in 1719 and turned to farming. You’ll see the low stone walls that separate their fields as you head south along the path. Old stone cellars dug below the settlers’ houses can also still be found in the woods. An old stone arch bridge, made of local granite, carries the trail across a stream at about mile 3. Not far past the bridge, you’ll enter a rocky, 0.25-mile-long railroad cut through a nearly 30-foot hill. The effects of the shade, water seepage, and the cool breeze funneled through the cut, called the Rainforest Ledge, create a natural air-conditioning system in summer.

The only road crossing on the trail is at Roulston Road (no parking here), then you’ll cross NH-111 on a modern pedestrian bridge at mile 3.6. The trail ends in 0.4 miles on Range Road, where you’ll find a bicycle shop. Cross Range Road to pick up the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor.

Notable Trails

The TrailLink website has information on hikes on the Windham Rail Trail.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Last updated October 24, 2023

From TrailLink website