John Hatch Park at Wiswall Falls Dam, Durham

Not a trail, just a spot to visit

Directions: From Durham, take Route 108 south towards Newmarket.  Turn right on Bennett Road.  At the end of Bennett Road, turn right on Packer's Falls Road and go 0.3 mile.  Turn left onto Wiswall Road and go 0.4 mile.

From Stratham/Newfields/Exeter, take Route 108 north towards Durham.  Just before downtown Newmarket, turn left onto Gerry Avenue, then left onto South Main Street. Go 0.1 mile, then turn right onto Packer's Falls Road and go 2.4 mile.  Turn left onto Wiswall Road and go 0.4 mile.

https://www.lampreyriver.org/parks-wiswall

From Lamprey River website above - "To a visitor unfamiliar with this site, the park seems quiet and unhurried. A closer look will reveal many clues about a much different past. Granite foundations abound and a human-made canal offer evidence of activity far beyond today's fishermen and recreationists. In the 1800s, this site was a bustling center of industry, home to a sawmill, paper mill, and other smaller mills. The bridge nearby has been rebuilt several times, most recently in 2009. The dam, originally built of wood and stone, was most recently upgraded in 2011. The fish ladder was built in 2011. All this activity has taken place on a site listed on both the New Hampshire and federal Registers of Historic Places.  The historic area actually extends far beyond the park itself, to include houses on Wiswall Road that once belonged to the mill owner, Thomas Wiswall, and his workers."

Lamprey River Preserve (Nature Conservancy), Durham

Directions: From Newmarket, from Route 108 in downtown Newmarket, head west on Route 152.  Turn right onto Packer's Falls Road and travel about 1.5 miles to the parking area for the preserve, located on the right side of the road (it's just past a horse farm on the left and house with a big solar panel in the front yard on the right).

From Durham, from Route 108 south of downtown Durham, turn right on Bennett Road, follow until it intersects with Packer's Falls Road.  Turn left on Packer's Falls Road, and travel about 0.5 mile to the parking area for the preserve, located on the left side of the road.

Or, come to our house - this preserve is our neighbor!

Dogs not officially allowed...

Doe Farm, Durham

Directions: From Route 108 between Durham and Newmarket, turn onto Bennett Road (turn right if coming from Durham, turn left if coming from Newmarket).  Follow Bennett Road about a mile to a bridge over the railroad; just before the bridge, there is a small driveway to the left leading down to a parking area.

The trail begins at the bottom of the parking lot, just before the railroad tracks.

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/boc_conservation/doe-farm

From Durham website above - "Tucked between Bennett Road to the north and the Lamprey River to the south, Doe Farm offers beautiful woodland trails that lead down to the river and its backwaters. Walking with and without dogs and x- country skiing are popular trail uses. Scouts help maintain some of the trails and bridges. Moat Island, separated from the mainland during high water, is left as a natural area, with no formal trails. The forests of Doe Farm have been harvested in the past, providing income back into a fund for maintaining the property. The property’s extensive river frontage helps maintain the water quality of the Wild & Scenic Lamprey River.

The property is named after Olinthus N. Doe who bequeathed the property to the Town of Durham upon his death in 1909. The Doe family cemetery and old cellar hole of the family homestead are located in the center of the property and are maintained by the town.

A gravel access road leads from the parking lot, past a metal gate, to a clearing that also serves as a log landing during forest management operations.  The clearing is just north of the old cellar hole and cemetery. Several loop trails branch off from this main woods road.

The property consists of mostly upland forest with a mix of red oak, white pine, and red pine and Norway spruce plantations.  The main section of the property is approximately 68 acres with extensive frontage (about 3,700+ feet) on the Lamprey River or its backwaters. Moat Island, accessible during low water periods, is approximately 15 acres and is completely surrounded by the Lamprey River, with over one mile of river frontage."

Adams Point, Durham

1.4 miles, loop

Directions: From Durham, from the junction of Main Street and Route 108, follow Route 108 south for 0.4 mile.  Bear left onto Durham Point Road, which later becomes Bay Road; follow for about 3.8 miles.  Turn left onto Adams Point Road.

From Newmarket, just north of downtown Newmarket on Route 108, cross the bridge over the Lamprey River and then turn right onto Bay Road; follow for about 3.8 miles.  Turn right onto Adams Point Road.

At the Adams Point Road turn is a mailbox labelled "Jackson Lab" and a chain link gate bars access from 10 pm through 4 am.  Follow Adams Point Road for about 0.9 mile; you will pass a boat launch and a lower parking area.  Continue for another 0.1 mile to the upper parking area at the end of the road on the right.  (You may park in either the upper or lower lot or any of the other small parking areas in between.  Don't park in the Jackson Estuarine Lab parking area.)

Start the hike by walking away from the Jackson Lab and the road; head down through the meadow and to the shoreline trail.

Watch out for poison ivy, especially in the field.

http://www.hikenewengland.com/AdamsPointGen1.php

Town of Durham Recreation Sites, Durham

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/recreation/outdoor-recreation-sites

Oyster River Forest (Spruce Wood Forest), Durham

Directions: From Route 155A (Mast Road), turn onto Packer's Falls Road.  Follow Packer's Falls Road for 1.1 miles until you see a dirt road with a gate on your left.  Turn in and park in front of the gate.  If you reach Mill Road, you have gone too far.

From downtown Durham, take Mill Road all the way to the end (approximately 2.5 miles).  Turn right onto Packer's Falls Road.  Almost immediately, you will see a dirt road with a gate on your right.  Turn in and park in front of the gate.  If you see a trailer park or Jenkins Road on your left, you have gone too far.

A small parking area is located near the gate.  Walk past the gate on an unused road.  At the first clearing and fork, head slightly to the left to continue through woods that open onto fields.

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/boc_conservation/oyster-river-forest-aka-sprucewood-forest

From Durham website above - "The 171±-acre  Oyster River Forest (previously known as the Sprucewood Forest) is owned by the Town of Durham. Consisting of both woods and fields, it is located approximately three miles from the center of town. Boundaries of the property include Mill Road to the south and southeast and the UNH College Woods to the northeast, and on the west it abuts the Spruce Hole Bog and Spruce Hole Conservation Area off Packers Falls Road.

The property will permanently protect Durham's current and future water supplies, contribute to the health of the Great Bay, provide habitat for the threatened New England cottontail rabbit, and provide public recreational access adjacent to the College Woods.

Purchased in 2013 through partnerships with the U.S. Natural Conservation Resources Service (NRCS), which will hold an easement on the property, and The Trust for Public Land, the property sits over a large portion (approximately 55 acres) of the Spruce Hole Aquifer. The Town of Durham intends to use this stratified drift formation, which that has the potential to both yield and store large quantities of water, as a public water supply in the near future. Together with the conserved abutting Amber Acres Farm, the property will protect over a mile and a half of frontage along the Oyster River.

Easy access is obtained from an abandoned forest road or from College Woods. The public may enjoy low-impact recreational uses on the property, such as birding, fishing, hiking, and cross-country skiing."