Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - Alton/Alton Bay Recreational Bike Trails Project

upthesaukee · 09-07-2005, 07:48 PM

Part of the project will entail following the very railroad bed that you told us about this past year, namely running from Alton to Gilford. The first part of the project will be to try to connect the uptown area of Alton with the Bay, providing a pleasant safe walking area besides the sidewalk along the side of Rte 11.

The route would basically follow the Merrymeeting from the Alton Central Fire Station down to Jones Field, off the Letter S road. In that area, it would pick up the old railroad bed basically to the Bay. Realizing that some of the railroad right of way has been built upon makes for a unique means of completing the project. Hopefully, with the cooperation of landowners and the town and state government (and state agencies), along with grant money that can be obtained, this project can go from a vision to a reality. From the back side of Jones Field, there is access to the State Forest that runs up behind the Camp Advenchur campground, an area which already has trails cut, but not maintained.

Once this project is completed, it will be moving on to heading west along rte 11, and then 11D, hopefully all the way to the Gilford line. It would be hoped that the trail will be equal to the Winnipesaukee River trail that you provided a link to, and the proposed "W.O.W." trail in Laconia, with WOW standing for Winnipesaukee-Opechee-Winnisquam.

There are many inactive railroad right of ways that can be utilized for walking, hiking, biking, and in the winter time, cross country skiing snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. This project is not one that will be completed by next spring, but certainly it is hoped that we can get our town selectmen behind us, then get the voters behind us, and get rolling on grant money and procuring the rights to construct. For our end of the lake, it is a wise investment as our town has always been about family, and family activities. The trail(s) would link the Bay with the uptown area, with the recreation areas within our town, and provide our residents (year round and seasonal) and visitors with safe and enjoyable outdoor activities during all seasons.

thanks for your interest, McD.

09-07-2005, 07:48 PM	#4
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,616 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,483 Thanked 1,988 Times in 1,088 Posts	Part of the project will entail following the very railroad bed that you told us about this past year, namely running from Alton to Gilford. The first part of the project will be to try to connect the uptown area of Alton with the Bay, providing a pleasant safe walking area besides the sidewalk along the side of Rte 11. The route would basically follow the Merrymeeting from the Alton Central Fire Station down to Jones Field, off the Letter S road. In that area, it would pick up the old railroad bed basically to the Bay. Realizing that some of the railroad right of way has been built upon makes for a unique means of completing the project. Hopefully, with the cooperation of landowners and the town and state government (and state agencies), along with grant money that can be obtained, this project can go from a vision to a reality. From the back side of Jones Field, there is access to the State Forest that runs up behind the Camp Advenchur campground, an area which already has trails cut, but not maintained. Once this project is completed, it will be moving on to heading west along rte 11, and then 11D, hopefully all the way to the Gilford line. It would be hoped that the trail will be equal to the Winnipesaukee River trail that you provided a link to, and the proposed "W.O.W." trail in Laconia, with WOW standing for Winnipesaukee-Opechee-Winnisquam. There are many inactive railroad right of ways that can be utilized for walking, hiking, biking, and in the winter time, cross country skiing snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. This project is not one that will be completed by next spring, but certainly it is hoped that we can get our town selectmen behind us, then get the voters behind us, and get rolling on grant money and procuring the rights to construct. For our end of the lake, it is a wise investment as our town has always been about family, and family activities. The trail(s) would link the Bay with the uptown area, with the recreation areas within our town, and provide our residents (year round and seasonal) and visitors with safe and enjoyable outdoor activities during all seasons. thanks for your interest, McD. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!! Last edited by upthesaukee; 09-07-2005 at 07:50 PM.