Everyone can enjoy this lovely 5.5 mile multi-use riverwalk paralleling Route 202 and following an old rail bed along the Contoocook River. Trail sections near downtown Peterborough are paved, wheelchair accessible, and plowed in winter. The outlying sections are natural, hard packed gravel or dirt. The Common Pathway begins at the Noone Falls area in south Peterborough, then follows sidewalks through downtown, passing by Putnam Park, crossing Nubanusit Brook, and underpassing main roads in two locations. It connects with the Old Railroad Trail, which leads about 2.5 miles north through conservation land into Hancock.
Parking:
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- Noone Falls: Rt 202 (Southern Terminus)
- Rt 202 at the Ocean State Job Lot plaza at 51 Wilton Rd
- Summer St: Approx 260-228 Summer St
- Scott Mitchell Rd & Rt 202
Websites
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- Most authoritative: http://peterboroughopenspace.org/success-stories/common-pathway.html
- Most informative: https://www.bikeitorhikeit.org/common_pathway_old_railroad_trail.htm