Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Trail 14 – Chalk Pond to Newbury 4.4 Miles

The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG or Greenway) is a 75-mile “emerald necklace” of fourteen hiking trails surrounding Lake Sunapee, crossing Sunapee, Ragged and Kearsarge mountains, and maintained by Greenway volunteers. The red arrow in the map points to Trail 14 – Chalk Pond Road to Newbury Post Office.  

We started our hike at the northern trailhead at Chalk Pond Road in Newbury, NH. 

The SRK Greenway Guide had the estimated time for this 4.4-mile hike to be 2.5 hours. My fellow hiker, Jim, and I found this to be a 3.5-hour hike. We did stop for a short 10-minute lunch and paused regularly to drink water and snack. This was a somewhat up and down hilly climb through 2 1/2 miles of woods, ending with a 1.5-mile hike on the Old Province gravel road and finishing on route 103 in Newbury.

We referred to the SRK Greenway Guide frequently during our trek. The Guide listed a spur trail NH Audobon Stoney Brook Wildlife Sanctuary from the Skytop Road cul-de-sac, but we did not notice any signs. 

A bit of Newbury town history. In 1778 the town was incorporated as Fisherfield, named after John Fisherfield, who was given a land grant. In 1837 the citizens changed the name to Newbury. 

We had only slim views of 21 acre Chalk Pond.

The Guide rates the hike as moderate. I agree with this due to frequent ups and downhills. Jim and I were both a bit surprised the Guide had this hike estimated as 2.5 hours. 

The hike was in mid-May, 70 degrees, and while we had some black flies, we had no major issue with them.
Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG) Trails Hiked by OutdoorSteve and Friends - Click below links

• 1. SRK Greenway Trail 1 Old Province Rd, Goshen to Newbury Harbor
  2. SRK Greenway Trail 2 Old Province Rd, Goshen to Sunapee Town Hall
  3. SRK Greenway Trail 3 Sunapee to Deerhill Springfield (Video featured on Bedford Community TV)
  4. SRK Greenway Trail 4 ProtectworthTrail, Springfield, NH
  5. SRK Greenway Trail 5 Springfield/New London to Great Brook Bridge
  6. SRK Greenway Trail 6 Great Brook Bridge to Wilmot 4A Wolf Trees and Trails
  7. SRK Greenway Trail 7 NH Route 4A to WilmotCenter
  8. SRK Greenway Trail 8 Wilmot Center to New Canada Road
  9. SRK Greenway Trail 9 New Canada Road to Proctor Academy
  10. SRK Greenway Trail 10 Proctor Academy to Winslow State Park Mt Kearsage
  11. SRK Greenway Trail 11 Rollins State Park via Lincoln Trail to Kearsarge Valley Road
  12. SRK Greenway Trail 12 – Kearsarge Valley Road to Wadleigh State Park
  13. SRK Greenway Trail 13 - Kezar Lake at Wadleigh Park to Chalk Pond
  14. SRK Greenway Trail 14 – Chalk Pond to Newbury

References

• New Hampshire Audubon
• Ausbon Sargent Easement Boundary
• Chalk Pond
• Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge (SRK) Greenway Web Site for Trail Maps and the SRK Greenway Trail Guide
• Hiking Eagle Pond, NH with Poet Laureate Donald Hall
• ORFS Hike Northern Rail Trail from PotterPlace Depot to Andover’s Softball field
• Sunapee Harbor Riverway
• Sunapee Harbor Riverwalk
• More Outdoor Steve Adventures
• Monadnock-Sunapee-Greenway

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" Everyone must do something. I believe I will go outdoors with family and friends"
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