I’d never heard of the Potanipo Rail Trail. I first noticed it on the lower left corner of my Beaver Brook trail map. Once I saw those little green lines leading tantalizingly off the edge of the paper, I had to go see for myself.

Clover and I explored it for about an hour late Sunday morning, and then headed to Beaver Brook for another hour and a half of running on more familiar routes.

When I was more focused on mountain biking, I used to study maps to find new places to ride. “Study” might be overstating things, actually. What I’d do is look at a street map, and find the big blank spots. I’d check another map, just in case the first had simply left something out. When I found large areas with no roads, I’d go check them out. Invariably, I’d find trails. Alas, we’re filling in the blanks at an alarming pace here in southern NH.

It was different for me, then, to spot an unknown trail on a map. After all, I lived around here for nearly 20 years. I was excited about it.

I’m a little less so, for having been there. As with so many unpaved rail trails, it’s a playground for snowmobiles and quads. I’ve nothing against them – I like to ride in the dirt myself – but I was hoping for paths less trammeled.

What the trail map calls the Potanipo Rail Trail seems to be the remnants of the Brookline-Pepperell branch of the Fitchburg Railroad, built originally to haul ice from Potanipo to cities in Massachusetts.

The tracks must have more or less followed the Nissitisset, because the line keeps crossing it (though the bridges are long gone). Another stretch of the old rail line runs southeast from the junction of Worcester Road and Brookline Street to the area of Prescott and Ridge Road, and beyond.

To reach the Potanipo side, you have to go south (toward Pepperell) on Brookline Street, and look for your first right (signed Boynton), then take an immediate jog again to the right (Bemis Road, but there’s no sign) to double back northward. There’s a parking area at the end of Bemis Road, near what looks to be a water treatment plant.

Clover and I headed West, and followed the line out to where it joined a small dirt road near a paved road. It must continue from there, but I couldn’t find any trace of the tracks.

Heading back, I detoured down a path where the snow was still fresh, and followed as it meandered up and down, flirting with the Nissitissit River. A few times we bushwhacked, following deer tracks (I kept Clover close, no need to worry the poor deer). That part was great fun.

Another trail crosses the rail line near the parking area; to the north there’s what looks like a sandpit, and to the south a whole lot more trails… we went a ways, but I got bored running on the snowmobile track. After we came out behind what must have been the Pepperell DPW garage, I turned back. Unimpressive as it was, I’ll probably check it out again sometime… perhaps on my trail bike.