Mine Falls Park Day Trip
Welcome to Mine Falls Park in Nashua, NH
Every autumn, New Englanders flock to the New Hampshire White Mountains for stunning fall foliage and landscapes. If you can’t get up to the White Mountains or are looking for a different, less busy destination, Mine Falls Park in Nashua, New Hampshire should be on your list to visit. It’s a one-hour drive from Boston or Worcester, MA, and is a great location for a casual walk or hike while seeing gorgeous nature along the Nashua Canal (on one side) and Nashua River (on the other side).
The flat, paved and dirt trails are suitable for strollers and young children as well as your elderly parents or relatives. Whether you want to go on a leisurely walk with your family or a solo run or bike ride, there are about 9 miles of trail loops to enjoy in this urban park.
There are three primary trails at Mine Falls Park that you can walk, run or bike through the park from east-to-west, and all offer a great nature experience.
Mine Falls Park (Whipple St.) Location | Directions from 495 North
How to get to Mine Falls Park (Nashua, NH)
Driving on Interstate 495 North is the most direct way. If you come from the Boston metro area, you can also take I-95 North. From both routes, you’ll drive to US-3 North and continue to Simon Street in Nashua. Take a left onto Simon Street and then take another left onto Whipple Street.
There are many, free parking spots on both sides of Whipple Street so you can enjoy this Nashua city park.
Walk around the main gate (strollers can easily maneuver around the gate) and head into the park, where you’ll see this entrance sign.
What to see at Mine Falls Park
After a few steps, you’ll reach a foot bridge; you can walk over the Nashua Canal or take the intersecting trail loop either left or right before the bridge.
During our visit, we walked over the bridge to take a trail through the wooded area by the river.
Tip: On a sunny day, stop at the top of the bridge to see the nature reflections. There are lots of great spots on the trails for photos in the woods and looking out at the river and surrounding landscape.
By walking over the bridge, you’ll see a small monument that marks a forested area. At this point, we turned right onto the Cove Circle trail and started hiking in the woods. The trail is picturesque, and the fall colors were beginning to pop.
After walking some, you’ll come to stairs on your right that take you up to the path by the Nashua Canal.
The stairs are quite narrow and steep, and they are not suitable for strollers or folks with significant physical limitations. You can also continue on the Cove Circle trail to the Pine Street parking area and follow it around Oxbow Lake, returning to the footbridge along the Nashua Canal.
At the top of the stairs, turn right and check out the canal views.
Tip: If you arrive mid-to-late afternoon, you can get really nice light effects in your nature photos and maybe capture Komorebi (i.e.., the sun light flare through the trees).
Tip: Use this trail map to plan your starting point. Trails are color-coded so you’ll be able to find your way around if you want to go for a long hike and explore the trail network.
Tip: There are no restrooms at the Whipple Street entrance, except for (during our visit) a porta potty.
