Kittery & Portsmouth Loop

This is a really fun run with great water views and a variety of sights and terrain. It includes a tour of Peirce Island (not a typo!), and then the Memorial Bridge over to Kittery, ME.

Start at the Portsmouth Memorial, and run along the pleasant paths of Prescott Park to Peirce Island Rd. You’ll then do a ~2 mile tour of Pierce Island, using Peirce Island Rd. and the gentle S. End Loop Trail and N. Shoreline Trail. Back at the parking lot, take a quick jaunt out to Four Tree Island. After returning to Prescott Park, it’s easy to run over to Maine, just 0.5 miles over the Memorial Bridge. Turn around at Water St. and head back to Portsmouth. Bonus: There’s a public pool on Pierce Island.

Add-Ons: Enjoy some of the lovely, historic streets around the center of Portsmouth and the grounds of the Strawbery Banke Museum. Can also connect to our Newcastle Island route. It’s a spectacular 1.5 miles from Prescott Park along Marcy St. to Rt. 1B, over to New Castle, passing  Shapleigh Island and Goat Island.