Outdoor Enthusiast: Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Trail 3: Sunapee Town Hall to Deer Hill Road

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 3 Sunapee Town Hall to Deer Hill Road, Springfield.

The trapezoidal white and green trail blaze is the trademark of the Greenway. When hiking, keep these trapezoids insight, and you know you are on the SRKG trail.

The southern trailhead of the SRKG Trail 3 is at the Sunapee Town Office, on NH Route 103B just south from its junction with NH Route 11. Parking is to the left of the Sunapee Town Office, close to the Sugar River. The northern trailhead at the intersection of Stoney Brook Road and Deer Hill Road is in Springfield, NH.

The Sunapee Riverwalk and SRKG trailhead signs outside the

Sunapee Town Hall are on the same post because the trails loop and overlap in Sunapee Harbor.

As I finished this loop, I again hiked over the footbridge at the trailhead, this time crossing route 11 and taking a left on Lower Main Street, and then a right onto School Street where I entered the woods for ¼ mile ending up in a neighborhood cul-de-sac.

There the trail follows Sargent Road to North Road, up a steep hill for another ¼ mile, then a right on Hill Top Drive, a gravel road that takes a sharp left and returns to North Road. A right on North Road, and you continue for two or so miles straight ahead, then North Road extends past a Dead End sign, then one mile gravel to a forked road where the trail with its trapezoid blazes enters a gated Class VI road.

The Class VI road is not town maintained. This one-mile section has ruts, muck, water run-offs crossing the trail, and follows a stonewall ... all the while going uphill. This is a very straight trail and brings you to paved Hogg Hill Road. You then go left on Hog Hill road meeting Stoney Brook Road, from whence you take a right for a mile, until just under Route 89 you come to Deer Hill Road – a dirt road. This is the northern trailhead of Trail #3. The Trail #4 trailhead sign, Protectiveworth Trail, continues you on to the next trail of your SRKG journey.

Trail 3 has been fascinating for me. I have hiked and run many of Sunapee's roads and woods trails, but rarely paid attention to the trapezoid signs. Trail 3 was done in three separate hikes. First was the southern trailhead at the Sunapee Town Office to School Street by the Sunapee Elementary School. The second was from the Sunapee Elementary School to the Class VI unmaintained road at the end of the gravel section of North Road. The third is hiking from the gated Class VI road at the end of the gravel section of North Road to the SRKG northern trailhead at the junction of Stoney Brook Road and Deer Hill Road.

I produced three separate videos for each of my three SRKG Trail 3 section hikes. The below video merges these videos into the full 7.3 mile hike with a prelude by OutdoorSteve.

Grab a cup of coffee or another favorite beverage, find a comfortable lounge chair, kick up your feet, and enjoy the below video, as Steve and Cathy hike Trail 3 of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway from Sunapee to Springfield, New Hampshire.

The SRK Greenway Trail Guide rates Trail 3 as moderate, and we are in agreement. The Guide's estimated time for this 7.3 mile hike is 3 hours. I find this time very fast. I spent a 1/2 hour on the Sunapee Riverwalk loop, as I stopped at each kiosk to learn the uniqueness and history of Sunapee Harbor and the Sugar River. I also spent three separate trips to hike the whole trail.

SRKG Completion Medal

Now prepare yourself for a hike, get yourself a partner, stay two hiking poles apart, and never say, "I wish I had hiked the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway."
Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG) Trails Hiked by OutdoorSteve and Friends - Click below links

References

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

Sunapee, NH: Steve Priest’s latest book Outdoor Play Hiking New Hampshire’s Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway: 75 Miles on a Fourteen Trail Loop, was released December 1, 2020.

The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge-Greenway (SKRG) Trail is a hidden gem of New England. Outdoor Steve’s goal is to share each step and strategy of this hiking journey across the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Steve recommends the eBook to experience the uniqueness of Hiking New Hampshire’s Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Trail. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MDN1S16)

Steve shares a video of his personal experience on each specific trail. The videos make the hike “come alive.” Each trail story is a short read with tips, details on preparation, pictures, maps, and references. The book is also available in paperback.

Some folks call outdoor experiences “play.” If “play” is defined as the choice made to take a course of action based on the rewards of participation and getting a perspective that can only come from ‘doing,’ then outdoor adventures are play. Many adults and children do not play enough.

Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Kindle and hardcopy at Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH.

Outdoor Play has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. The book will motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life. If you want 5 or more books signed, send Steve an email and we can work out the logistics.