Ashuelot Rail Trail in Keene New Hampshire, bike trail, map

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Click on each picture (below) to see a larger image and click on the arrows to scroll.

The town of Keene serves as a hub to both the Cheshire Rail Trail and the Ashuelot Rail Trail. So I found it rather odd that a.) no two people seemed to pronounce Ashuelot the same way (so let's go with ash-wheel-ot) and b.) no one and I mean no one in Keene could tell me where I could find the trailhead for the Ashuelot Rail Trail. This became especially puzzling when I finally found that the trailhead was located pretty darned close to the heart of the town. So once you get to Keene, just find "The Center at Keene" and the trailhead is directly across Emerald Street from there. Another helpful hint for finding this trail and many other rail trails in the New England area is to get one of the tourist (illustrated) maps of the town (Keene, NH in this case) and they are sometimes easier to follow than other maps.
To start, if you are biking the Ashuelot Rail Trail, I recommend you use a mountain bike. Although a hybrid bike or recumbent bike may be possible to navigate on most parts of this trail, knobby tires and a little bit of suspension prove to be quite helpful on certain parts of the trail. Having said that, I wouldn't categorize this trail as a strictly mountain bike trail, and it's not too difficult to ride since it is fairly flat and is never far from one quaint community or another.
Speaking of quaint communities, I loved some of the towns and villages associated with the Ashuelot Rail Trail. For starters, Keene is a nice New England town with a pretty downtown area, a couple small colleges, and plenty of tourist amenities.

Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 10:32:00 PM

an old railroad bridge on the Ashuelot Rail Trail
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 10:41:18 PM

Keene tennis courts along the Ashuelot Rail Trail
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 10:41:25 PM

You will find plenty of shade along the Ashuelot Rail Trail.
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 10:47:48 PM

Ashuelot Rail Trail
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 10:51:14 PM

The old meets the new on Ashuelot Rail Trail.
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 10:53:43 PM

History abounds on the Ashuelot Rail Trail.
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 11:19:54 PM

The Ashuelot Rail Trail temporarily disappeared in Swanzey, so I took a road that ran (sort of) parrallel to the bike trail. I spotted this West Swanzey Cemetery just off the road.
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 11:23:00 PM

The West Swanzey Homestead Cemetery is just one of the many New Hampshire historical sites you'll see when bike riding on the Ashuelot Rail Trail.
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 11:23:27 PM

The Ashuelot Rail Trail
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 11:46:15 PM

The Ashuelot Bike Path runs right by the Monadnock Speedway in New Hampshire.
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Image Date: Sep 2, 2009 11:50:06 PM

The Ashuelot Rail Trail
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The Ashuelot Rail Trail bike path
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The Ashuelot Rail Trail
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The Ashuelot Covered Bridge near Ashuelot, New Hampshire.
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Image Date: Sep 3, 2009 12:48:23 AM

map of Ashuelot Rail Trail in Keene, New Hampshire, USA

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Ashuelot Rail Trail

great New Hampshire trail information from trailsnet.com