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Running trails in Amherst, NH
Amherst has 13 trails in the directory — 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 boardwalk, 4 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, and 5 open 24 hours. 6 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 361 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Ponemah Bog
4.7 ★★★★★ 237 reviews
Lush bog area offering a short trail on wooden boards & a variety of birds, wildflowers & plants.
Haseltine Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 20 reviews
B&M Trail
3.8 ★★★★☆ 4 reviews
Joe English Reservation
4.3 ★★★★☆ 3 reviews
Atherton Trail
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Amherst
- Match the surface to your legs. Amherst gives you a choice: 3 boardwalk and 2 natural surface. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More boardwalk trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 4 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Amherst is Ponemah Bog at 75 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 5 trails in Amherst are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 7 have trailhead parking in Amherst. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 with mile markers, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 3 dog-friendly, and 1 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Amherst trails by type
Running trails near Amherst
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.