The Presidential Range Rail Trail is an 18-mile trail that runs through the White Mountain National Forest. The trail follows the former route of the Boston and Maine Railroad, which was abandoned in 1983. The trail offers views of the Presidential Range, a group of mountains named after United States presidents, including Mount Washington, Mount Adams, and Mount Jefferson. The trail also passes through the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, a habitat for many species of birds, mammals, fish, and plants. The trail is open for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and snowmobiling, depending on the season. The trail is mostly flat and gravelly, with some sections of grass and crushed stone. The trail has several access points along US-2, NH-115, and NH-115A. The western end of the trail starts at Cherry Pond, a popular spot for birdwatching, and the eastern end of the trail ends in Gorham, a small town with shops and restaurants.

In the decades prior to 1911, the unregulated logging practices of private timber companies in the White Mountains had resulted in a damaged landscape susceptible to both fire and flood. Fires had burned thousands of acres, and flash floods affected the water power necessary to the mills of major industrial centers downstream, such as Manchester, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts. Concerns over losses to industry, business, and tourism, and the growing conservation movement led to citizen action. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) spearheaded an effort to ensure the permanent protection of the White Mountains from further depredation. After years of lobbying and intense public pressure, Senator John Weeks of Massachusetts, a native of Lancaster, New Hampshire, introduced legislation that became known as the Weeks Act. The Weeks Act was passed by Congress in 1911, appropriating 9 million dollars to purchase 6 million acres of land in the Eastern U.S. In turn, this led to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in 1918, and twenty-one other national forests throughout the north and southeast. Many of the groups who were instrumental in the passage of the Weeks Act, including the SPNHF and the AMC, are still active today, and the WMNF has grown from 7,000 acres to almost 800,000. Today, the reforested mountains and hillsides supply forest products and provide magnificent recreational opportunities while maintaining healthy watersheds and ecosystems.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike using the Presidential Range Rail Trail.

Presidential Range Rail Trail is a 19.2-mile moderately trafficked point-to-point trail located near Gorham that features beautiful wildflowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from March until October.