Head's Pond Trail Has a New Way In. Hooksett Isn't Finished With It Yet.

"The existing entrance consists of a steep and rocky slope that can make access difficult, and in some cases impossible."

That line comes from the background brief that went to the Hooksett Town Council on June 10, 2026. It describes the short climb from the Route 3 parking area down to the Head's Pond Trail. The same brief calls the trail itself "relatively wide, flat" and says it is enjoyed "by people of all ages and abilities." It had become one of Hooksett's most popular outdoor recreation spots. The problem was the first few hundred feet between the car and the gravel.

That entrance has now been rebuilt. Runners in the Hooksett Kiwanis 5K used it on September 19. Five days before the race, the Hooksett Conservation Commission spent part of its meeting debating whether the new entrance delivers what its name promises, and voted to get quotes for a railing or fence. The Access for All approach is open, but the town is still working on it, and more changes are expected at the trailhead before snow.

What the Kiwanis Paid For

The project belongs to the Conservation Commission, working with the Hooksett Kiwanis. Its stated goal was "a longer, gentler, and safer approach from the parking area to the trail." The Council brief says the design meets the Accessibility Guidelines for Outdoor Recreation Areas and Trails. It also adds two paved accessible parking spaces and updated signs.

The Kiwanis have been tied to this trail from the start. In 2008 the club organized the volunteers who built the trail on a former railroad bed. Since then it has helped with signs, maintenance, and a bog bridge built in 2022. This time the club gave $20,000. The money went straight to the contractor the town chose, Advanced Excavating and Paving, LLC, so the town received the gift in the form of labor. A donation that size needed a public hearing and a vote. The Council accepted it 5-0, as Manchester Ink Link reported.

That $20,000 is only part of the cost. In July 2025, the Commission's own blog put the early estimate for the project at $20,000 to $30,000. That figure included up to $6,500 for survey and wetlands work by the engineering firm Stantec, approved after a grant fell through. Stantec invoices were still coming before the Commission in September 2026, including one for $3,124 approved on September 14. No final total cost has been published.

A Summer Build That Started Late

The June brief expected construction to start in mid-June 2026. The Commission's August 10 minutes put the actual start on July 28, with two to four weeks of work to go. The same agenda item lists an erosion-control and drainpipe submittal from Stantec, the Kiwanis race on September 19, and a line that reads "Plan a trail opening event?" No ribbon-cutting has been announced since then.

The clearest public sign that the entrance is finished comes from the race page. The Kiwanis told runners that access to the trail "has changed this year because of a project called 'Access For All.'" The page said the entrance is "now an 'S' shape to the main trail," and warned runners to be careful on the way down. The race started at the Head's Pond trailhead and finished at the Hooksett Library. Parking was on University Circle, and shuttles ran between the library and the trailhead.

For comparison, a 2025 report of the design analysis described the target: a maximum grade of 8%, level resting spots every 50 feet, and about 200 feet of regrading. Those were planning figures. Nothing published so far confirms them as the finished measurements.

The Entrance on Paper and on the Ground

Five Days Before the Race, the Commission Took Another Look

The Commission reviewed the project on September 14. The minutes from that meeting are still marked draft, so wording and details may change when they are approved.

Commissioner J. Pieroni raised the main concern. A wheelchair has to "squeeze" past a large rock near the gate, and the opening is narrower than planned. "We went from 15' to 10'. It isn't 10', it's 8'," she said, according to the draft minutes. She also argued that a fence was needed for safety. Commissioner J. Woodburn suggested the gate could be moved and said a handrail was planned. Asked about compliance, she drew a distinction.

"the access isn't ADA compliant; it complies with the accessible trails standards"

That matches the June brief, which cited the outdoor recreation and trails guidelines rather than the ADA itself. Commissioner S. Korzyniowski asked whether the town could get a quote for a handrail that looks good and is also safe. The Commission then voted 5-1 to get quotes for a safety fence or railing along the Access for All trail.

So the entrance works well enough for the town to run a public race over it. The body that built it has also put a barrier, and possibly a change at the gate, back on the table.

What Is Lined Up Before Snow

The railing is one of several changes planned for the trail this fall. Taken together, they mean the trail may look different by November than it did for the race.

1. Railing or fence quotes. Approved on September 14. No design, cost, or install date has been published yet.
2. A natural stone memorial bench for Logan Prescott. Mark Gregoire, a Hooksett teacher and resident, proposed the bench in memory of a friend's son who died of cancer this year. It would sit in a clearing overlooking the pond, run six to eight feet long, and include river stone at the base, a stone spire, and a brass plaque. Gregoire still needs Town Council approval and told the Commission he hopes to build it "maybe October before the snow." The Commission first accepted the donation on August 10 by a 7-1 vote. In September it gave co-chair Alan Stein authority to approve the ground materials and the size of the area. Any plaque still needs separate approval.
3. A second donated bench. In August the Commission accepted a bench donation from Estelle Smith, who does not live in Hooksett.
4. Kiosk repair and new maps. A Kiwanis member volunteered to fix the trailhead kiosk. The Commission approved up to $2,000 for maps and materials and is asking Home Depot for a donation.

Past the Gate, the Trail Hasn't Changed

All of this work sits at one end of the trail. The rest is unchanged. It is a 1.75-mile crushed gravel trail inside the 483-acre Head's Pond Conservation Area. The Commission's 2024 trail map describes it as a flat out-and-back route maintained by the Kiwanis, open to dogs and bicycles. The town's recreation assets list shows the parking at Route 3/Hooksett Road and Post Road. It says the route passes a marsh and Brown Brook, reaches Lakin Pond, and includes an overlook of Head's Pond. That same list gives the length as 2.9 miles. The more recent town brief and the Commission map both say 1.75.

The Commission welcomes dogs that are leashed and under control, and handlers must pick up after them. The town runs its trails as carry-in, carry-out.

If you bring a stroller, a wheelchair, or a parent who walks with a cane, the new approach is meant for you. It replaces a slope the town itself described as impossible for some users. As of mid-September, though, the narrowest point by the rock and gate was still under discussion, and no railing had been approved. The Conservation Commission meets on Mondays at 4:30 p.m., and its minutes are posted at hooksett.gov. That is where the railing decision and the memorial bench's Town Council date will show up first.

Owning property is a lot like this trailhead project. A problem that looks solved on paper often turns up again in the final measurements. If you'd like to talk through what's happening in Hooksett, whether it's this trail or a home near it, Gail McCarthy is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.