OUR SUMMER HIKING CHALLENGE INFO

Let us know who you are (your email will not be shared or sold), and download our log sheet.
Miles, location of hike, date, weather, anything else you wish to note.
Enjoy the beauty of our trails and class 6 roads, and HAVE FUN!

BEFORE YOU HIKE

Hike early and slowly.
Bring water with electrolytes.
Think before you hike.
Know where you are at all times.
Know how to read a map.
Your phone may not have reception.
If it’s hot and humid, hike another day.
Always be willing to turn back.
No use reaching Everest – or Table Rock – if you don’t come home.

FANNY MASON REST AREA
Observe how some people go out of their way to leave trash!
Look up, way up, in the shelter beams!

ABOUT BELLOWS FALLS DAM DRAWDOWN OF APRIL 26

 Great River Hydro performed a drawdown of the impoundment on the Connecticut River.
GRH slowly lowered the impoundment, conducted the necessary dam maintenance work, and then gradually refilled
it to normal operating levels. The entire process took approximately 3 to 4 days. During the drawdown, visitors
saw exposed riparian areas upstream of Bellows Falls dam, the most visible being closest to the dam.

They took every measure to mitigate risk and impact to environmental resources in and adjacent to the Connecticut River.

All recreational use of the river was strongly discouraged during the drawdown period, as reduced flows
could have exposed previously submerged hazards, and dangerous conditions could have existed
in exposed mud flats. Public safety devices at the dam have been restored.

Boat ramps at the following locations were temporarily closed until the work was completed:
Herricks Cove (Rockingham, VT), Charlestown (Charlestown, NH), and Pine Street (North Walpole, NH).

The notice was shared within local networks and community social media outlets. 
Please contact communications@greatriverhydro.com
or (802) 291-8104 with any questions. 

MUD SEASON IS HERE
March to Memorial Day, and later at higher elevations

WHERE TO HIKE WITHOUT INCURRING TRAIL DAMAGE
Many parts of rail trails and mountain roads, paved bike paths, and accessible trails
are available for hiking without causing damage.

CAUSES OF TRAIL DEGRADATION
Deep and wide puddles appear, sometimes taking up entire sections of trail.
Excessive foot traffic on oversaturated trails causes soil compaction.
Mechanical stress or vibrations from our steps force soil particles closer together,
creating denser soil with few air pockets. With fewer and smaller air pockets,
water can’t drain easily and plants struggle to push roots through.

Long term, this degrades the quality of the trail by reducing its ability to absorb water.
Erosion from water and wind carries soil away, leaving rocks and roots exposed.

You cause additional damage when you walk around those giant mud puddles that block the trail.
Skirting the trails’s edges may keep you dry, but you’ll also trample vegetation,
widen the trail, and cause permanent environmental damage.

Please walk THROUGH the puddles.

We ask that you avoid using any trails with mud, even if they are not officially closed.
If the access road to your trail is wet and muddy, please choose a different trail.

MUD SEASON POINTERS and TRAIL CONDITION REPORTS
https://amcnh.org/responsible-hiking-practices-during-mud-season/
https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/
https://appalachiantrail.org/experience/hike-the-trail

WINTER HIKING TIPS
Be prepared.
Even if your hike is a one mile trail, an accident you might brush off in summer can become life threatening in winter if you are not prepared

• Dress for the weather
• Know your abilities.
• Know exactly where you are at all times.
• Know how to read a map. Your phone battery could fail in the cold.
• Tell someone where you’ll be and when you expect to be back.
• Also tell them what to do, and whom to contact, should you not be back when expected.
Do please read the information in the links below.
https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/outdoor-resources/winter-hiking-essential-gear-list/
https://www.greenmountainclub.org/hiking/winter-hiking/
https://sectionhiker.com/winter-hiking-gear-list-for-new-hampshire-vermont-and-maine/

If you have further questions, feel free to email the Trail Committee at
walpoletrailhelpers@gmail.com

© France Menk
These hikers are inappropriately dressed for the conditions.

RAIL TRAIL MAINTENANCE REPORT
11/8/25  Saturday 9 am – 12 pm

Thank you to all our stalwart volunteers.

We dug, raked, and invented where we could to clear culverts,
improve drainage ditches, and water bars along our town’s section of the rail trail.

Fabulous hot cider, donuts, and typical Walpolean trail banter kept everyone’s energy high.

Starting south of River Road, we cleared the first culvert, then three more, southward.
Another group cleared and widened waterbars, just north of the Vet clinic, and drove south
to clear the area around the culvert north of the Route 12 overpass.

Look for a much drier footbed in the Spring.

TREE NEWS

The Walpole Conservation Commission is coordinating an effort to re-tree the town commons and,
with residents’ input, we will plant trees in North Walpole, Drewsville, and Walpole Village over the next 10 years.

OUR FIRST TREE PLANTING ON THE COMMON
SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER 2025 FROM 1 – 3 PM

Diagram is a sketch of most of the trees now standing on the Walpole Common.
We need trees to provide beauty, shade, carbon accumulation and storage, and habitat for wildlife and insects. 

OUR APPROACH
• Involve residents with species selection, and labor.
•  Find a representative from each village to fully commit to coordinating their village’s planning with the Walpole committee’s.
• Create an inventory of all town trees around commons and village streets (see the developing draft map of the Walpole common,
shown above). Start with the Walpole common, then others’ commons, then all main streets.

Lost Hiker with Heat-Related Injury in North Walpole
https://nhfishgame.com/2025/07/16/lost-hiker-with-heat-related-injury-in-north-walpole/

HOT WEATHER HIKING TIPS

Hike early and slowly.
Bring water with electrolytes.
Think before you hike.
Know where you are at all times.
Know how to read a map.
Your phone may not have reception.
If it’s hot and humid, hike another day.
Always be willing to turn back.
No use reaching Everest – or Table Rock – if you don’t come home.

Fanny Mason Trail Couturiers

Come out to our trail maintenance days!
Meet your neighbors! Have a blast!! And relish in your pride of a job well done!
Photos above © France Menk

Ditch and bramble clearing day.
Photo © Will Grossman

Scroll for earlier news

A “THANK YOU” TO WESTMINSTER, VT, FIT BODY BOOT CAMP

Sarah Dumont, Owner, of Westminster VT, Fit Body Boot Camp, organized an Earth Day Cleanup challenge:
if 50 bags of trash were gathered, they would make a $500 donation to the Walpole Conservation Commission.
They gathered over 300 bags and the check was presented at our September meeting. They also adopted
two miles of road in Alstead, and completed that cleanup at the end of September.

OUR FORESTS

THE WALPOLE GATEWAY

FANNY MASON IS BLAZED IN YELLOW!

I addition to wood signs we had placed awhile ago, we now have yellow blazes on trees at points
we thought would clarify the path; and, in some cases, simply reassure.

Let us know your thoughts, your wishes, your ideas. Your email will not be shared or sold

EARLIER NEWS

HELP OUR TRAILS DAY

On May 4, 2024, the Walpole Trail Committee sponsored its 2nd Annual Help Our Trails (HOT) Day. Twenty-four HOT Day volunteers gathered at Town Hall, split into small work teams, and spread out to do maintenance on the trails at Mill Pond Sanctuary, Fanny Mason Forest, and the Cheshire Rail Trail. On all the trails, they clipped back encroaching vegetation, cut and cleared fallen branches, and removed litter. At Mill Pond, the trail workers also repaired bridges, installed signs, and did erosion control. On the rail trail, leaves and silt were cleared from drainage ditches and culverts.

EARLIER TRAIL WORK

FANNY MASON FOREST BRIDGE BUILDING

All photos, © France Menk except where noted, November 2023

DRAINAGE WORK ON THE CHESHIRE RAIL TRAIL

All photos © Wendy Grossman, October 2023

SEE WALPOLE RAIL TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS

Rail Trail Project Completion: The 2023 project to improve drainage on the Cheshire Rail Trail in Walpole is complete! Drainage ditches have been dug out, culverts have been cleared, and/or the trail surface has been raised at a few of the very wettest areas along Walpole’s rail trail. Users should find a much drier trail year-round, though there will still be some wet spots (especially when it rains.)

Visit the Rail Trail: We would encourage any interested walkers, bicyclists, equestrians or other non-motorized users to check out the renovated portions of the Walpole rail trail. Remember, no motorized vehicles are allowed on the rail trail except for snowmobiles. Maps of the rail trail are available on our website walpoleoutdoors.org/maps/and in Town Hall.

Thanks: Thanks to all who’ve made this project possible, including the Recreational Trails Program, the Walpole Conservation Commission, the Walpole Selectboard, trail builder Lew Shelley of Snowhawk LLC and nine volunteer trail workers. Thanks also to all those in the Walpole area who’ve cheered us on.

You can send any questions or comments to walpoletrailhelpers@gmail.com

Wendy & Will Grossman
Walpole Rail Trail RTP Project Managers
Walpole Trail Committee

MAPS