Friends of the Concord - Lake Sunapee Rail Trail

Friends of the Concord - Lake Sunapee Rail Trail (CLSRT) is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to create a 34 mile multiuse path substantially following the old railroad grade of the Concord & Claremont Railroad from Pierce Manse in Concord NH to Newbury Harbor on Lake Sunapee in Newbury NH. Much of the old railroad grade is privately owned. We are asking landowners for permission to make the trail on their land. So far we've secured over 17 miles of the route. This is a true community project that is succeeding because landowners, residents, businesses and visitors all understand how transformative a rail trail through Concord, Hopkinton, Warner, Sutton, Bradford and Newbury will be for their communities and for the region. People also like our tagline "Ice cream every 45 minutes." If we get the trail done and you are riding a bicycle you will come to a town center every 45 minutes.

Friends of the Concord - Lake Sunapee Rail Trail is a 501c3 run by an all volunteer board. We engage with land owners, municipalities, and the state to obtain permission to build the trail on property they own. We plan projects with independent utility, so each adds value to the community on its own. We have fun doing trail maintenance and clearing. So far we have trail sections on the ground in Concord, Hopkinton, Warner, Bradford and are working on a project in Newbury.

We are extremely fortunate to have a board that is fun, enthusiastic and capable. We are additionally blessed to be working on a project that has broad community support. That translates into people wanting to work with us on projects. We make it very easy for people to engage with us on a no strings attached basis, show up for an hour or two in the field and be done.

To set up our projects takes behind the scenes work. Being handy with with any of the following applications is a real plus: Google apps, Salesforce, Mailchimp, SignupGenius, Survey Monkey, Wordpress, Facebook, Instagram (or additional social media apps), ESRI GIS (Story maps), Adobe Creative Suite apps, construction estimating. Anyone willing to help behind the scenes is so appreciated. We can train.

We have no official office. We strive to have our organization fully in the cloud. However, its helpful to have some feel for the area. So while we can in theory work with people who live anywhere, its helpful to both you and us if from time to time you visit the area.