West Epping-Candia, NH railbed

Hello all... I was wondering if anyone can help me... On the unused railroad beds.... where there are no rails... Is it ok to use for ATV/Bike riding??? Where i'm wanting to go is not posted for tresspassing... there are stop signs along the trail at intersections... the bed runs from West Epping NH to Candia NH... If anyone can help or direct me to where i need to be.. that'd be great...

Thanks..

That roadbed between West Eppiing and Candia is actually the Rockingham County Recreational Trail, and is meant for many uses, including biking.

In regards to using other abandoned roadbeds, I would only uses ones that are clearly intended for public trail use since they are usually owned by the state and open to the public. Many times old roadbeds are owned privately, and you could get in trouble for tresspassing. When in doubt of the ownership of a roadbed, the local library or town hall might be able to provide information about it's current ownership.

You should definitely do the research before riding an ATV or motorcycle on an disused railroad bed (technically, an unused railroad bed is one that never saw rails. See http://russnelson.com/unfinished-railroads.html ). First, the railroad might still own it, and there are often special laws protecting railroad property against trespass (if you trespass in my field, too bad for me; if you trespass on railroad property at the wrong time, very bad for you.) Second, even if the state, county, or town owns it, they may have a pipeline underneath it and not want it used for travel. Third, the railbed may have reverted to private owners, who can get very grumpy when ATVs come through digging ruts in their property. I know several places on the Rutland (former Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain) which have a gate that's only closed during ATV season. Property owner also owns a gun shop. Dick’s Country Store and Music Oasis: 500 guitars and 1000 guns.

if this bed is the one that goes by lake massabesic (sp), you should see clearly posted signs at pretty much most of the road crossings.
The signs indicate motorized stuff is only allowed when there is snow on the trail, and are prohibited during other times of the year.
The reason for this, is that *some* atv and dirt bike riders find it impossible to ride unless they are throwing a rooster-tail of dirt at all times. They aren't content to ride, they HAVE to destroy what they ride on, and the resultant moguls are time and money consuming to repair.
I think this is the manchester to portsmouth branch.
The west rockingham recreational trail intersects this trail at rt. 125 and 101, and that trail also has restrictions to motorized offroad equipment use, but not in regard to snow...you can atv/ dirtbike from west of fremont, but once you cross 107, it's posted as off limits...but the tracks in the bed show that rule is ignored by some.

was just on the paved windham rail-trail this morning,although posted as a no no, there was plenty of evidence of atv use.

The actions of some atv/dirt bike riders has really caused me to look down upon some of them,their arrogance..the destruction they cause, their flippant disregard and "what are you gonna do about it" attitude...I commend you for trying to ask and find out if it's OK.

Gee...guess I was wrong on atv use allowed if there is snow on the trail...this link is to the trail information, and the only thing with an engine that is allowed is a snowmobile.

http://members.fortunecity.com/railtrai ... R-home.htm

There's a lot of right of ways in New Hampshire that are considered snowmobile trails, yet when the snow melts, dirt bikes are prohibited for the same reason, because they tear up the trail. Don't get me wrong, I love tearing up a trail, I used to tear up the trolley right of way near my house before they built a housing development next to it. But when you try to take a mountain bike down a trail with all the rooster tails and moguls, it's a lot harder to pedal through all the loose sand and ruts.

There's other right of ways in New Hampshire such as the Northern Mainline from Tilton to Lincoln, in the summer this is an active railroad, but in the winter it's a snowmobile trail. I worked on a track crew with the P&L one summer, I remember the foreman complaining all the time about the damage to the tracks where the runners grind down the contact surfaces, knock the switch points out of alignment, rip the crossing signal wires off, etc. At least you get the satisfaction of karma every time you pull a destroyed runner out of a frog, knowing that someone had an interesting time getting their sled out of there.

If you want to ride your ATV on an old railbed, then you can do so on the old WN&P line from Route 28 (Rockingham Road) in Derry all the way to Route 107 (Main Street) in Fremont... The main parking area is located in Fremont off Route 107...

EDIT: Here, give this page a read over - http://www.nhtrails.org/recreational-ra ... -uses.aspx

I wonder if they consider a track speeder to be an ATV. I've often wondered this about railroads during the time that a line is considered a trail yet doesn't have snow covering the rails.

RedLantern wrote: There's other right of ways in New Hampshire such as the Northern Mainline from Tilton to Lincoln, ...

Just a nitpick, but the Northern Mainline runs from Concord to West Lebanon. You're thinking of the former Concord & Montreal and Plymouth & Lincoln lines, now sometimes called the White Mountain Branch. I'm pretty sure its fair game for snowmobiling south of Tilton to Concord as well - at least I see plenty of sleds out along I-93 in the winter.

Dave