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Walking

Manchester is a great place to walk around whether you walk downtown among the great local restaurants and shops or Amoskeag Riverwalk that is rich with history among the renovated mill buildings. You can also visit the historic Valley Street cemetery at Pine, Valley, Auburn and Willow streets. It was established in 1841 with over 20 acres, it hosts Manchester great first families including Blodgetts, Straws, and the Starks. 

If walking among nature and trails is more your scene check out the trails around Dorrs Pond. Dorrs Pond is adjacent to Livingston Park and is used for recreation purposes. It has been a fixture in the north end of Manchester since 1934. It has a normal surface area of 25 acres. There are numerous trails and the pond is open to ice skating in the winter months.

Walk for Your Health

The Parks & Recreation Department, along with countless volunteers, developed Walk for Your Health.  This is an organized group walk with two sessions - a spring session and a fall session.  The spring session begins mid-April depending on weather and runs through mid-June.  The fall session begins in early September and runs through mid-November. 

The walks are from various points within the City and are held on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays at 9 AM.   

Spring 2023 is TBD. 

For more information please contact the Parks & Recreation Department.

Lake Massebesic

Location: Rte 101, Exit 2 Bypass 28. For more specific trail information you can contact or visit the Audubon Center off Bypass Rte 28 or the Manchester Water Works (they maintain the trails on the Manchester side). Both of these places have maps of the different trails around Lake Massabesic. Most of the trails are well marked and they range from 1/2 mile to 3+ miles.    The Manchester Historic Association, offers a number of guided walking tours throughout the year. Call (603) 622-7531 for a list of events. 

Hands Across the Merrimack

Mission Statement:  To garner the necessary private and public resources and support to transform and maintain a landmark rail-trail bridge for pedestrian and cycling use. 

History: A group of citizens led by Helen Closson was organized in 2001 to transform the existing and abandoned trestle bridge into a landmark pedestrian bridge over the Merrimack River. The bridge will be at the crossroads of the now developing pedestrian trails, and will demonstrate Manchester's commitment to the new parks being developed on both sides of the river. Through the efforts of our Mayor Robert Baines the State has already appropriated the sum of $600,000 for the construction of the bridge. Hands Across the Merrimack hopes to raise, through private donations, one and quarter million dollars for construction and maintenance of the bridge. Other funds will come from the City and from Federal monies. The estimated cost of the project will be about 2.4 million dollars.