October 8, 2025 - Two towns in northern New Hampshire have expanded their outdoor recreation opportunities with newly constructed trails that emphasize sustainability, community access, and connectivity. The new trails, in Gorham and Franconia, reflect years of planning and partnership development between trail organizations, land managers, and the public.
The Northern Forest Center provided 51 percent of the $110,000 cost for the trails, using funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission, and also provided support throughout the projects.
“Building sustainable trails – even relatively short sections of trail – takes time and careful planning,” said Joe Fox, the Center’s outdoor recreation manager. “Both of these projects went through a public comment period and federal environmental review process to ensure they met a balance between providing opportunities for outdoor recreation and respecting the natural communities where they are located.”
In Gorham, NH, the Coos Cycling Club and Gorham Land Company partnered to add approximately 1.5 miles of new trail that climbs from Gorham up toward the White Mountain National Forest and essentially looks like a lollipop. One section of the new trail will be open for bi-directional travel, while another will be optimized for downhill travel. The bi-directional side of the trail is now open, and the downhill section will be completed next spring.
“The new trail, ‘Alpine Spring’, brings the Coös Trails network to well over 30 miles of mountain biking and mixed-use singletrack and flow,” said Jon Gilson, executive director of Coös Cycling Club. “It also gets us one step closer to our long-term goal of connecting the Trails to users in the White Mountain National Forest. It’s a remarkable asset for the Town of Gorham and the surrounding residents, including the next generation of kids who will take human-powered movement into the future.”
Meanwhile, three partners in Franconia, NH – Franconia Area NEMBA, the Town of Franconia, and the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust – have collaborated on a 0.9 mile, machine-built, bi-directional, adaptive-friendly trail in the Lawrence Town Forest.
Franconia NEMBA (a chapter of the New England Mountain Biking Association) has a goal of creating an adaptive-friendly loop accessible from the Town of Franconia. This new trail, combined with work done several years ago on “Pebble Beach 2.0,” will help bring the group much closer to accomplishing that goal.
“We all know that being active and spending time outdoors and connecting with nature is important for both physical and emotional health, and those benefits apply to everyone,” said Tim Clough, president of Franconia Area NEMBA. “Our trail system has largely consisted of technical, rocky, rooty, and narrow trails. While that has gained us a very loyal following of riders looking for that experience, we recognize that our trails can be challenging for many people to ride, and frankly, most are impossible for adaptive riders due to narrow tread paths.”
Tim explained that Franconia Area NEMBA recognized the need for more trail diversity – having more options for beginner and intermediate riders – as well as the need for adaptive-friendly trails to help meet its goals of being a true community asset.
“In the past few years, we have made significant investments in our trails, and the addition of this new trail is a giant leap forward for us toward our goal of creating an adaptive-friendly loop that will be accessible from town,” said Tim. “Beyond being adaptive-friendly, the trail is shaping up to be just plain awesome for everyone! We are extremely grateful to the Northern Border Regional Commission and the Northern Forest Center for all of their support and to our many landowners, partners, and donors that make our work possible.”
Real Life Adventures of Littleton, NH, built Franconia’s new trail, which is scheduled to open in just a few weeks.
“We know that access to trails can be a motivating factor in recruiting and retaining folks in this region and a contributing factor to a diverse and robust economy,” said the Center’s Fox.
These are two are among dozens of recreation projects that the Center has helped communities undertake in the last few years with funding from NBRC, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, LL Bean, RK Mellon, and the Center’s own Northern Forest Fund. “It’s so rewarding to support communities in their efforts to enhance recreational opportunities for residents and visitors,” said Fox. “We’re grateful to all of the funders who make it possible.”
Coos Cycling Club and Franconia NEMBA are both members of Bike Borderlands, a Center-led collaborative of 16 mountain biking trail networks that work together to provide great trail riding in Northern New England and southern Quebec, and to foster a shared sense of responsibility within the mountain biking community.
The Northern Forest Center is an innovation and investment partner serving the Northern Forest of northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.
Read more about the Northern Forest Center here.
