This trail is well known to local snowmobilers, and it also makes a splendid trip for mountain bikers. The best place to park, IMHO, is off Pratt Pond Road in Mason.

Novice riders will enjoy the unpaved railbed itself, while more experienced riders will want to explore the various trails that cross it. Fans of Henry David Thoreau might like to know that he traveled this very line on his way to visit Mount Monadnock.

The southern end of the trail begins at the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border in Mason, New Hampshire. The rails and ties remain in place south of there, in Townsend, Mass., which would make for tough going.

The trail passes by an old granite quarry, and runs along the southwestern shore of Pratt Pond. It continues into the wild woods of Wilton, and then bends around to the southwest toward Greenville, but comes to a precipitous stop at an old bridge abutment along Route 31… the bridge itself is long gone.

The total distance is about nine miles.

Granite Town Rail Trail

I confess that I’ve never set foot nor tire on the Granite Town Rail Trail, I’m merely aware that it’s there.

It starts out behind the DPW garage off Route 13 in Milford, and runs south and west into Brookline. According to the Souhegan Valley Land Trust, it ends abruptly three miles later as it reaches the Palmer Wildlife Preserve in that town. I keep meaning to go check it out for myself; I’d be happy to hear from anyone who has.

Nashua River Rail Trail

The 12-mile paved trail runs from Gilson Road in Nashua south to downtown Ayer, Mass. Since the city extended the trail into Nashua, parking areas have been added on Gilson Road and West Groton Road (Route 111A) in Nashua. There's also a small dirt lot off Hollis Street in Dunstable, Mass., and parking lots along Route 113 in East Pepperell and off Court Street in Groton, Mass.

The trail passes by woods, wetlands and farms, and through or near town centers in Pepperell and Groton. The state of Massachusetts built the bulk of it, and hosts the official website. I wrote some articles on the Nashua River Rail Trail for The Telegraph back in 2004, and they’re mostly old news, but read on for an article on the history of the rail line.

The Treasure Hunt: The Treasure Chest is hidden at a prominent feature along one of these aforementioned rail trails (careful readers will quickly rule out one of the three). Here's the clue: Take a look south of the brook, where cattle be lowing.

The rules remain the same. Inside the Treasure Chest (technically a plastic bin, but use your imagination), you will find a stack of cards with my e-mail address and a simple question. Take a card, any card. Please leave the rest, and put the box back where you found it. This contest works only if people are good sports about it.

Trails in Progress

It’s worth noting that there are two rail trails in proposed or planning stages nearby in Massachusetts. The one I’m most excited about is the Squannacook River Trail. It’s only about three miles, between Townsend and West Groton, but so far as I can tell (using satellite imagery online), it’s a stretch of the very same rail line that becomes the Greenville-Mason Rail Trail.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that line could be opened to recreational use all the way from Greenville to Groton, Mass., where a short hop on the roads would link it to the Nashua River Rail Trail? You’re darn tootin’ right it would.

Plans for the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail seem to be much further along, and that one sounds pretty cool, too. It’s going to be a 25-mile paved trail from Lowell to Framingham, Mass.

Further Afield

Though a bit of a trek, there are several other trails within striking distance of Greater Nashua. Most famous and busiest would be the 11-mile Minuteman Trail that runs from Bedford, Mass., through Lexington, Arlington and Cambridge. The Bedford end is closest (off South Road in Bedford), and there happens to be a bike shop right there, in case you find yourself needing a spare tube or something.

The Rockingham Rail Trail is open to dirt bikes and ATVs, and so may not be a great place for slower vehicles, but I've never tried it.

There's a paved rail trail that runs from downtown Jaffrey into Rindge, and an unpaved trail that runs to the west of Route 12 in Troy, but I couldn't find websites for either of those.

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Nashua River Rail Trail History

The paved path of the Nashua River Rail Trail follows a route carved into the landscape more than 150 years ago. The Mexican War had just ended and the Civil War was yet to be declared when the Worcester & Nashua Railroad opened for business in 1848. James Polk was president.

Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna," was published, performed and became a popular hit song that year. Gold had just been discovered in California, but you could still beat the rush. Horace Greeley's New York Tribune had yet to publish the famous advice, "Go West, young man."

The railroad was chartered in 1845 and finished in December 1848, according to Matt Cosgro of Nashua and Springfield, Mass., creator of the Nashua City Station railroad history Web site.

At first, the line had only one set of tracks, but there were sidings at most stations to allow opposing trains to get out of each other's way, Cosgro said.

The Worcester & Nashua backed an extension of the line from Nashua to Rochester, which opened in 1874, and the entire line from Worcester, Mass., to Portland, Maine, was taken over by the Boston & Maine Railroad about two years later, according to Cosgro and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management's Web site.

A second set of tracks and signals was added from 1911 to 1913, one year before World War I broke out, and then removed in 1929, as the freight business was falling off.

Passenger service from Ayer to Nashua ended in 1934, between world wars and smack dab in the midst of the Great Depression.

The Boston & Maine sought to abandon part of the line, from Pepperell to Nashua, in 1941, but customers around Hollis Depot protested. The railroad abandoned most of the line within Nashua, but the tracks remained in place and in use from Hollis Depot south until 1982.

A stretch of the railroad running parallel to Hollis Street in Nashua remained in use until around 1990, and the western end has since become the Nashua Heritage Rail Trail, running from Main Street to Simon Street.