New Hampshire Beaches & Odiorne Point State Park

There’s terrific running on New Hampshire’s beaches, including Salisbury Beach, Seabrook Beach, and Hampton Beach. There are also some seafront promenades and nice sections of coastal road that are scenic and safe for running.

Beach Running. Hampton Beach, along with Seabrook Beach directly to the south, are the two best beaches for running in New Hampshire. They’re wide and feature firm, packed sand much of the time. The place is a scene, with big crowds, waves, and bikers on a typical summer weekend. Hampton Beach runs for 1.5 miles from the southern end at Hampton State Park to the Salt Marsh Conservation Area, at the intersection of Rt. 1A and Rt. 101. To the south of Hampton Beach, one can also run, seamlessly along Seabrook Beach and Salisbury Beach, straddling the MA/NH border, totaling some 5 miles.

Coastal Road. There’s also some nice ocean-side road running, heading north from Hampton Beach all the way to Odiorne Point State Park, 12.5 miles one-way, following Rt. 1A/Ocean Ave. There’s a sidewalk or decent shoulder most of the way, and other beaches that are good for running.

Odiorne State Park. This 135-acre oceanside park at the north end of the Ocean Blvd. part of Route 1A features some scenic trails. It’s ~1.2 miles from end-to-end, and overall 2-3 miles of trails. TRAIL MAP