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.
Memorial Bridge
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 (which has a good pedestrian path). 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.
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.
Memorial Bridge
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 (which has a good pedestrian path). 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.
Lovely running in this hip and historic port city on the Picataqua River. Enjoy the main streets, Prescott Park, and grounds of the Strawbery Banke Museum. We've also included a 7.5 mile loop out to the island of Newcastle.
Wonderful beach running. Wide, with firm sand, ~1.5 miles long. Can extend further south to Seabrook Beach and Salisbury Beach for a total distance of 5 miles. We also recommend lovely oceanside road running at Odiorne Point State Park.
This rail-trall, opened in 2024, is a great addition to the Portsmouth running scene. The crushed stone surface path runs inland for 8 miles from Portsmouth south to North Hampton. Mix of woods & open space. Plans to extend further south.
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