Seabrook Rail Trail

A Recreational Trail for ALL!
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PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS


The New Hamphire Seacoast Greenway  is a proposed 17 mile non-motorized trail that will connect the eight coastal communities of: Seabrook, Hampton Falls, Hampton, North Hampton, Rye, Greenland, New Castle and Portsmouth.
The NHSG is part of the larger East Coast Greenway (ECG), running from Maine to Florida in addition to connecting to the NH coastal towns, the NHSG will connect with segments of the ECG currently being built in Maine, Massachusetts and beyond.

The NHSG Advisory Committee includes representatives from corridor communities, three NH state agencies, Rockingham Planning Commission, the East Coast Greenway Alliance, National Park Service Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance Program, regional and statewide bicycling organizations, and neighboring trail groups in Maine & Massachusetts.

 The Advisory Committee has helped to designate an interim on-road on NH Route 1A and Route 1B and developed a conceptual design for a long term off-road route on the Hampton Branch of the Eastern rail corridor.   The Advisory Committee has a mission to plan, construct, maintain and operate the NH Seacoast Greenway and is currently working to move the project from concept to reality.

Achieving this will be dependent  in part on forming strong local trail committees in Seabrook and other towns to build community support for trail development.  This will be the work of the Seabrook Rail Trail Alliance that we are forming!




The East Coast Greenway  is a developing trail system, spanning nearly 3,000 miles as it winds its way between Canada and Key West, linking 25 cities on the eastern seaboard. Nearly 25 percent of the route is already on safe, traffic-free paths.
To form its longer continuous route, the ECG stitches together shorter trails owned and managed by state, county, and municipal agencies. Each local trail retains its identity as an independent facility with a distinct local name. Signs notify users that the trail is part of the ECG. The East Coast Greenway Alliance is the national coordinating organization for the ECG project, a non-profit organization based in Wakefield RI with volunteer committees in each state to spearhead and coordinating this enormous trail-building effort.  The Alliance will not own or directly manage any portion of this trail. Rather, it will be owned and managed by municipal, county and state agencies.

 While the ECGA itself does not build the trails, it promotes the vision for connecting local trails and provides strategic assistance for states, counties and municipalities that do build trail. The ECGA works through national, state, and local partnerships with government agencies, trail organizations,engineering firms, civic organizations, and scores of other groups that support the ECG vision. Through these partnerships and with its own staff and volunteers, the ECGA promotes the trail development and the linking together of local trails across jurisdictional boundaries.





Rockingham Planning Commission

The Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC) has served as facilitator for the NH Seacoast Greenway planning effort over the past several years, and provided assistance with conceptual design, strategic plan development, community outreach, projecting demand and return on trail investment, and funding development. This work has been performed by agency staff as well as consulting assistance from Workman Management Consulting.

The RPC provides technical assistance to member communities with planning for transportation improvements, land use and development, energy efficiency, natural resource management and economic development. The RPC also serves as the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for 27 communities extending from the Seacoast to the I-93 corridor. Through its member communities and state and local member agencies, the MPO oversees planning and programming of federally funded transportation projects in the region.





The Seabrook Conservation Commission supports the creation of a recreational trail along the B&M/Eastern Rail Corridor that bisects Seabrook.  The current trail is rutted in some areas and some sections have considerable erosion problems.  The run-off has contributed to our need to dredge the ponds adjacent to the railway.
There is an stone arched culvert of historic importance and eligible for the National Register.  Much vandalism has been done to the culvert, and if it is not stabilized soon, could deteriorate much more. The town owns a 1.5 acre parcel of land that abuts Cain's Mill Pond and a park is planned for that area.

It is our recommendation that the first section of the corridor to be worked on should be the section between Railroad Ave and the Library.  The Senior Housing complex is located on Railroad Ave. a short distance from the railway.  Improving the trail in this area would provide the seniors, and other users, a scenic connection between their residences and the library, plus easy walking access to shopping centers.





Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes (SABR)

Make cycling part of your life!

Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes (SABR) is a non-profit organization working to promote development of bicycle routes in the New Hampshire-Maine Seacoast area, and promote safe cycling and sharing of the road by all users. SABR has provided matching funding to access federal transportation planning funds for the NHSG project, and served as the non-profit organizational umbrella for private grants and fund-raising supporting NHSG implementation. 






 



The Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA)  Program is the community assistance arm of the National Park Service.  RTCA staff provide technical assistance to community groups and local, state, and federal government agencies working to protect natural areas and water resources and enhance close-to-home outdoor recreation opportunities. The RTCA has provided valuable technical assistance to the NH Seacoast Greenway project with
development of the NHSG conceptual design, strategic plan, and outreach materials; as well as grant-writing, planning for long term organizational structure and management of the trail, and forging community partnerships.












The Eastern Trail Alliance (ETA) are friends of the Eastern Trail, a proposed 62 mile walking/biking off-road woodland trail now being developed to run from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to South Portland, Maine.  The Eastern Trail in Maine is both a trail and a vision. It is an existing scenic on-road trail mostly following quiet country roads. Experienced bike riders and hikers can enjoy a beautiful 80+ mile journey from South Portland's Bug Light Park on Casco Bay to Kittery's Piscataqua River.

The off-road Eastern Trail is being built along the old Eastern Railroad Corridor. The Eastern Railroad was the first railroad to connect Boston to Portland, operating from 1842 until 1944. Since then, the corridor has been used by utility companies for natural gas and electricity transmission.

 Imagine walking or biking through off-road woodland trails from Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Bug Light Park on Casco Bay in South Portland. This is the vision of the Eastern Trail Alliance (ETA).

The vision is becoming reality. South Portland's Greenbelt, complete nearly from Casco Bay to the Scarborough town line, is part of the Eastern Trail. A 4.1 mile section of the off-road trail now stretches from the Black Point Road in Scarborough, across the marsh, into Old Orchard Beach. We hope to have another major section of the trail made off-road in 2010.








The Coastal Trails Coalition (CTC) is a non-profit organization advocating for the Coastal Trails Network, a 30-mile public system of bicycle and pedestrian trails linking the communities of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport and Salisbury. It is also part of the ECG and Border to Boston Network.  The goal is to connect with the NH Seacoast Greenway at the Seabrook border. 

 Each town is working on projects at this time.  They are:
  • Clipper City Rail Trail - Newburyport
  • Salisbury Point Ghost Trail - Salisbury
  • Old Eastern Marsh Trail - Salisbury
  • Pow Wow Riverwalk - Amesbury










The planning process for the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway has been funded by grants and in-kind support from NHDOT, NPS-RTCA, SABR, The Eastern Trail Management District, RPC, ECGA, and other organizations and individuals on the Project Advisory Committee. 
The  committee has helped to designate the on-road and off-road routes, create a work plan to move the project from concept to reality, and has completed a 5 year Strategic Plan. 
With a grant from NH Charitable Foundation, signage for the NHSG was fabricated and installed on
the on-road route.




(photo by H. Lalime)