Windham Rail Trail: Depot to before Roulston Road

Windham Rail Trail: Depot to before Roulston Road — detailed guide

Source review: 2026-10-16. A dated source review does not guarantee current-day conditions.

About 6.4 miles out and back on the main trail, plus the walk from your parking space. Start at the designated Windham Depot trail lot, follow the paved Windham Rail Trail generally east and then south, and turn back on its wooded approach before Roulston Road. This course returns to the same lot and avoids crossing Depot Road, Frost Road, North Lowell Road or Roulston Road.

This is an original editorial draft checked against public sources on October 16, 2026. It remains unpublished. The approximate distance describes this selected return, rather than doubling the advertised length of the entire Windham trail or including connected trails into Derry and Salem. A shorter return from any suitable clear point is also possible.

Arrive at the Depot lot

Use the trail alliance’s directions to the designated Depot parking area off Depot Road. Coming from North Lowell Road, the alliance places the lot on the right, past the caboose and nearby houses. The town’s brochure identifies the public trailhead between the depot and freight buildings. Nearby street numbers vary across the sources and map listings, so use the marked trail lot rather than treating a nearby residential address as a precise parking pin.

The selected lot sits on the south/east side of the Depot Road trail crossing. Walk your bicycle through the vehicle aisles and along the short paved connection beside the historic buildings to the main paved trail. June 2025 public Street View inside the lot shows a curved paved link, wooden fencing and a bollard near the freight building. That imagery establishes dated layout, not today’s bollard clearance or a protected walking route from every parking space. Dismount wherever cars or a narrow entrance require it.

Do not cross Depot Road to begin this ride. Do not park on Depot Road or substitute a restaurant, business or residential lot when the designated lot is full. The alliance’s current news page also prohibits parking on either side of Roulston Road and in the neighboring business lot. Older alliance pages suggesting parking there are inconsistent with that instruction.

Follow the paved main line

From the Depot connection, take the main paved Windham Rail Trail toward Salem, initially heading east and then bending south. Stay on that main line at junctions. The other former railroad corridor branching northeast from the Depot area and the colored nature trails on the town map are separate routes. Their surfaces and bicycle permissions do not follow automatically from permission to cycle on the paved Windham line.

The town’s linked 2023 conservation map identifies a paved rail-trail and permits bicycling. An older municipal brochure describes the refurbished tread as level. Treat that as a qualitative description of a former railroad route: there is no current maximum-slope survey, accessible-route certification or inspection of every bridge transition supporting this draft. Wet leaves, roots, broken pavement, ice and crowded passages can change how comfortable an otherwise gentle route feels.

Continue along the main corridor through the wooded and wetland setting toward Roulston Road. Slow for walkers, horses, children, trail junctions and any posted controls. The alliance asks users to keep right, announce passing and handle dogs responsibly. Use a speed that allows room to stop around other people; this guide does not establish a separate numeric speed limit or e-bike class policy.

Turn before the road

Roulston Road is an at-grade vehicle crossing. End the outward leg on the northwestern wooded approach, before entering its crossing controls, curb area or roadway. Check behind you and use a clear place to turn without blocking the path. Turn earlier if the approach is busy, narrowed or signed closed. The February 2024 public panorama and aerial views provide dated context for this interface, not a current inspection of turning space or crossing signals.

Return along the same paved main line. At the Depot, walk the connector and parking aisles back to your vehicle. Crossing Roulston Road to reach the Route 111 bridge, continuing into Salem, crossing the Depot-area streets into Derry, or using a nature loop would create a different itinerary.

Distance, hours and conditions

An internal measurement of a selected portion of NHDOT’s existing public reference line gives about 3.17 miles one way, or 6.35 miles for the return. It uses 108 vertices from one historical feature. The starting connection and exact turnaround setback are approximate, and the parking walk is unmeasured. About 6.4 miles is therefore a planning estimate. There is no surveyed parking coordinate or public navigation file for this draft. Whole-trail figures of 4.1 and 4.2 miles in different official sources describe another extent.

Choose daylight and obey the actual posted parking controls. The current alliance homepage calls the Depot a day-use lot and prohibits parking outside its stated sunrise/sunset window. Another alliance page contains a contradictory sunset-only wording; a map listing’s 9 p.m. closing time does not resolve that conflict. Ordinary parking fees have not been verified. Donations and event charges do not establish a parking tariff, and portable toilets described by the alliance are not a guarantee of service on your visit.

The alliance’s current home, trail, directions and news pages and the municipal homepage notice section were reviewed. No physical all-clear follows from that review. Recheck lot access, current work signs, bridges, barriers, tread and weather before publication and before riding. Linked 2025 annual-report pages returned 404 and were not read. This guide is scoped to ordinary pedal bicycles on a clear, usable paved trail.

Sources: trail alliance, trail description, parking notice, Depot directions, town trail maps, linked conservation map, older town brochure, and NHDOT reference layer.