A very approximate view of how the trail will go from the Kiosk to Kearsarge Ave.
Persistence pays off! Both the Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail and the Town of Hopkinton had applied to the NH Bureau of Trails for Recreational Trails Program funding for this project in previous years. In 2022 the Town applied again and this time received the grant. The partnership calls for the town to be supplying the in-kind labor and materials for this project while the Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail is providing the cash match of approximately $4,500.
This project creates a safe traffic separated connection from Houston Fields to the new sidewalks along Kearsarge Ave so students at the middle and high school have an easier more direct way to reach the library and playing fields. It also creates a walking loop using Pine St, Kearsarge Ave, and Houston Fields.
The Town of Hopkinton received its official notice to proceed in the second half of June 2023. Construction began mid October of 2023.
December of 2023 Update: We’ve been granted additional NH-CDFA Tax Credits! These are additional funds for Concord. NH Businesses, please consider supporting the Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail using Tax Credits.
The Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail is fortunate to have been selected by the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority for a Tax Credit award of $290,000 to help construct a 1.25 mile section of trail in Concord.
The portion in orange above is supported by Tax credits.
These tax credits can be used by businesses to pay the New Hampshire Business Profits Tax, The New Hampshire Business Enterprise Tax or the New Hampshire Insurance Premiums Tax. If your business pays any of these taxes to the state of New Hampshire please contact Tim Blagden (tsblagden@clsrt.org) or George Hunton (ghunton@nhcdfa.org or 603-717-9116) at New Hampshire Community Finance Development Authority.
NH CDFA Tax Credits are a way to have more community impact with the very limited funds a business has to invest back into the community. A lot more impact. This is not just another way to make a donation to a worthy cause. They multiply the impact of your dollars and provide you with additional flexibility. They are simple to use. But they are for businesses only. Over 600 unique businesses have used NH CDFA Tax credits since 2016. Many come back again and again once they discover the impact they have.
Our project in Concord will complete the longest single section of trail we’ve built to date. Its a great section of trail taking users from Fisherville Rd (Rt 3 in Concord) to the RiverHill section of the city by the Contoocook River. Riverhill Market, Contoocook Kayak & Canoe, Murray Farms Greenhouse, Friends of Forgotten Children, the River Hill Grange and more are all near the west end of this project.
These businesses have already decided to help us with NH CDFA Tax Credits. We hope you will join them.
Thunderstorms are forecasted for the afternoon of July 28th so we made the decision this morning to postpone until August 11. Participants may run in Concord on Aug 11, or run in Bradford Aug 18, or run in Newbury Sept 15, or request a refund. We thank everyone for their understanding and flexibility. We hope to see you for a great event.
Custom bench with a view of Lake Todd in Bradford, NH.Custom benches at our trailhead in Concord, NH awaiting final placement along the trail.
These railroad wheelset benches provide a very long lasting, comfortable, and striking way to show your appreciation to a loved one or to promote your business. We will work with you to find the optimal trailside location for your bench. A custom plaque will be attached.
Custom Bench cost: $1,995. Contact us at info@clsrt.org with any questions.
We are looking for volunteers to help greet people during Market Days in Concord June 23rd, 24th and 25th. This is a really fun time. Everyone loves the rail trail and wants to know where it is and what’s happening. We will give you all the answers. Click below to pick a time that works for you.
Support CLSRT TODAY through NH Gives – June 7th & 8th, 2022
An anonymous donor has offered to match up to four individual donations of $1,000 to Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail. The donor will provide $1000 match up for the first four $1000 donations made to CLSRT during NH Gives, up to $4000 total match.
NH Gives is 24 hours of focused giving sponsored by the NH Charitable Foundation. Donate to Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail through the NH Gives program between 5pm Tuesday, June 7th and 5pm Wednesday, June 8th, and your donation can go further with match prizes. Bonus matches are available if you are the first to donate at 5:00 PM on the 7th, at 6:03 AM on the 8th, and at 4:59 PM on the 8th.
Donate today so we can finish phase 2 of Concord this summer.
To optimize your donations to CLSRT, donate during matching times starting at 5pm Tuesday, June 8th. You can get all the details for the hourly matching rules and other prizes for NH non-profits at https://www.nhgives.org/prizes
The first 4 donations of $1,000 to CLSRT will be guaranteed a $1000 matching donation. A generous donor will do this up to 4 times during NH Gives. Please help us capture those potential funds.
Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail has partnered with Car Easy to make it simple to donate your old vehicle to help the rail trail.
CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services) is a nationally recognized social enterprise nonprofit that helps thousands of nonprofits in the US and Canada increase their fundraising and acquire new contributors through turn-key vehicle donation programs. Since 2003, CARS has returned more than $300 million to our partners.
Join us indoors in January for a review of our 2019 accomplishments and a discussion of what’s next in 2020 and beyond. What do you want to see? How did we do on the sections that are now on the ground or are in progress?
January 22 at 6:30 PM at MainStreet Bookends, 16 E Main St, Warner. January 23 at 6:30 PM at Village Cafe, 11 W Main St, Bradford. January 30 at 6:00 PM at Hopkinton Library, 61 Houston Dr, Contoocook. (Check back for a Concord date. We are finalizing plans).
In 2019 we were challenged to raise $50,000 that would be matched by a donor advised fund of the NH Charitable Foundation. Together we did it!
You Have Our Trust Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation has offered us a challenge grant where they will donate $50,000 to CLSRT if we can raise $50,000 from other sources by December 31, 2019.
Meeting that challenge enabled us to have the funds to complete finishing touches on the Stevens Rail Trail in Contoocook & Warner and complete the parking area and a half mile of trail in Concord that opened spring of 2020.
Thank you to everyone who got us over the top. Thank you also to You Have Our Trust for supporting the vision of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail and challenging us to reach new heights.
Our first Concord Project – 2.5 miles between Fisherville Rd and Carter Hill Rd.
Help build the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail this Saturday the 28th of September 2019. We will be cutting brush and branches in preparation for grading work that will follow. Its fun to be a part of the transformation of this land into rail trail. We are gathering in the field just south of 33 Fisherville Rd, Concord, NH 03301. Use LAD Welding as a landmark. Park in the field. We will have a crew ready to point you in the right direction starting at 8:30 AM. Arrive when you can and stay only as long as you like. Bring gloves and the brush cutting tool(s) of your choice: Loppers, limbing saw, chain saw, pole saw. We will be providing pizza for the crew for lunch. Have questions? Send email to info@clsrt.org
