If You Build It, They Will Bike (and Walk, and Ski...)
Marianne Borowski, Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail
Today we take a scenic ride through the intricacies of trail development, where the rubber meets the road in terms of community building, advocacy, grant writing, marketing... and bike riding!
Marianne Borowski is the absolute force of nature behind the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail.
For those of you who haven’t yet heard of it, the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail is an 83 mile long multi-purpose trail that spans northern New Hampshire, from Woodsville on the Vermont border to Bethel, Maine.
The Adventure Trail patches together pre-existing rail trails, bike paths, dirt roads and a few short pavement segments to create a fluid tour of the north country great for biking, hiking, cross country skiing, horseback riding, you name it - if it’s non-motorized, you’re probably good to go on this fantastic trail. AND you can get amazing support along the way, thanks to the countless resources available on the xNHAT.org website.
Such well-documented, well-thought-out trail networks don’t just magically appear out of the ether - there is always at least one extremely passionate advocate working behind the curtains to make their vision a reality for the rest of us to enjoy.
Marianne is just such a passionate, action-oriented visionary, and she was kind enough to invite me up to her hill-top perch in Bartlett to talk all things trail. I loved every minute of our conversation, so I’m sharing them all!
Head on over to xNHAT.org to get all the details about the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail, including links to the Story Map, the GPS links, even how to get your very own copy of the OG waterproof paper map, so you can start planning your own Cross New Hampshire Adventure! And if anyone is interested in joining Trish and me on the ride later this summer/fall, shoot me an email - guidesgonewildpodcast@gmail.com - who knows, maybe we can do a whole group thing! That would be SO FUN!
Plus, check out this awesome merch!!
In the meantime, more great links from our conversation:
Katy Trail (MO)
C&O and GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) Trails (PA, WV, MD, DC)
Read more about bicycling in Québec, and the ‘Bienvenue cyclistes!’ program
National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program
And one more thing - we hope you’ll consider Evans Notch Lodge in Gilead, Maine as the perfect place to end your Cross New Hampshire Adventure ride! With accommodations close to the last (or first!) stretch of the xNHAT on the Maine/New Hampshire line, Evans Notch Lodge offers the cozy bed and hot shower you’ll crave after a long day in the saddle - contact them today for more info and availability!