The Merrimack River Greenway Trail is intended to be a 4-season, 10-12 foot wide, paved trail from the Pembroke city line to the Boscawen city line.

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The Trail will be about 12.7 miles long.  The northerly 6.8 miles will be a rail trail and the southerly 5.9 miles will be a riverside greenway trail. 

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The Trail will allow and encourage use by walkers, runners, bicyclists, roller bladers and, when conditions permit, cross country skiers and snowshoers. It will be inviting to people of all ages and, to the extent possible, it will be universally accessible. ​

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Phase 1, Terrill Park, Completed

 

The first phase of construction, a 12-foot wide, 0.3-mile long section in Terrill Park, was completed in the fall of 2020.

 

Construction of the Phase 1 cost $125,000 and was made possible by a grant to the City from the National Park Service's Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and a matching contribution from the Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail.  Our contribution was made possible by large and small donations from generous businesses and individuals, in and around Concord.

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Phase 2, Sunflower Section, Completed

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The second phase is a 0.7-mile long section between the river and the sunflower fields behind the Concord Post Office, completed in late summer, 2024.

 

Construction of Phase 2 was made possible by a $275,000 grant to the City from the LWCF and a $305,000 contribution from the Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail.  Our contribution was made possible by a $150,000 grant of federal funds through the County of Merrimack plus large and small donations from generous businesses and individuals, in and around Concord.

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Phase 3, Riverside Connection, In design

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​The third phase consists of striped 12-foot wide, 780-foot long trail, linking the Sunflower Section to Loudon Road.  Permits are in hand and engineering is underway.  We expect it to be constructed in spring of 2026.

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Phase 4, Penacook Rail Trail, Design to begin in 2026

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In February 2026, the City of Concord purchases a 5.73-mile long abandoned railroad corridor from CSX Rail.  A grant from the Federal Highway Administation's Transportation Alternatives Program will pay for about 80 percent of the cost of engineering, permitting, and constructing the first 1.8 miles of the MRGT, from the Northern Rail Trail (NRGT) in Pednacook to Sewalls Fall Road.  Engineering will begin in late summer 2026.

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Efforts are underway to raise the necessary funding to continue constructing the trail.

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