Manchester Cedar Swamp Loop
The Manchester Cedar Swamp Loop at Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve in Manchester, New Hampshire is an easy 2.5-mile loop hike that leads through every trail at the preserve, features an Atlantic White Cedar swamp, and follows a universally-accessible path -- the All Persons Trail.
Trail names: Woodland Loop Trail, Rhododendron Loop Trail, unnamed trail, and the All Persons Trail.
Location: Country Side Blvd. Manchester NH
Permitted uses: Hiking, Nature Viewing, Hunting, Snowshoeing
Prohibited uses: No littering, No Camping, No campfires, No horses, No bicycles, No dogs except for service animals, No removal of plants or wildlife. Hikers are provided with an installed shoe brush at the kiosk and are kindly asked to brush off their shoes before and after hikes. This simple request is an attempt to slow or stop the unintentional spread of invasive seeds to this protected area.
Hours: Dawn to Dusk
Fees and Parking: There is no fee to park or use the trails. There are 13 regular parking spots and two spots specifically set aside for handicap accessible needs. The Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve is also serviced by the Public Bus System and hikers without access to a vehicle can use the bus to get to and from the Preserve.
Pets: No pets are allowed on the trails. Only Service dogs are permitted on the trail.
Universal Accessibility: The All Persons Trail is wheelchair accessible / universally accessible. The Woodland Loop Trail and Rhododendron Loop trails are not wheelchair or universally accessible. A free audio tour of The All Persons Trail is available in English or Spanish and can be accessed by visiting Travelstorys and searching for the Manchester Cedar Swamp, or by following this link:
https://web.travelstorys.com/dist/v3/single.php?k=VD4OMKsX94cbEDTdo60w
Hiker amenities: There is an information Kiosk at the trailhead where visitors will find a posted trail map and a list of regulations. There is a large wheelchair accessible port-a-potty with hand sanitizer in the parking area. There is no drinking water or trash bins. Please carry out all waste with you.
Length and Trail information: This hike is approximately 2.6 miles long, is done as a loop hike and is considered easy. The trails are well blazed with either yellow/green, blue or orange markers. At most of the junctions hikers will find engraved wooden signage to assist in staying on the trail.
The trail substrate on the Woodland Loop Trail and Rhododendron Loop is typical of a New England woodland setting. There are lots of roots and rocks scattered across the trail, so hikers will need to wear appropriate footwear and travel with caution. There are no rock scrambles, no intensely steep inclines or declines, but there are some ups and downs along the trails to keep it interesting and get your heart rate up for a short time.
There were lots of mushrooms fruiting during our visit and the color was just beginning to show in the autumn leaves. The forest is dense here with an abundance of Hemlock, Birch, and White Pine providing lots of shade. Also found within the bounds of this Preserve are Atlantic White Cedars which can live up to 1000 years old, but most only live to 200. Between the two hundred years, 1600 to 1800, roughly 80 percent of the Atlantic White Cedar Swamps were drained and used for agriculture. In the 1900s habitat for these swamps were destroyed due to development. There are four different kinds of Atlantic White Cedars Swamps that have been described in New Hampshire according to the Nature Conservancy and the one found in Manchester is the globally rare Atlantic White Cedar - Giant Rhododendron Swamp. In New Hampshire there is a combined total of ONLY 500 acres of Atlantic White Cedars Swamps, and this Preserve is 42 acres in size. Sadly, Atlantic White Cedars Swamps only exist in a narrow swath along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida and a small band along the North coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The Black Gums trees also grow here and are the oldest trees in the Northeast, some over 500 years old.
The Woodland Loop Trail provides access to the Rhododendron trail which crosses over a small stream. A very sturdy wooden bridge has been installed to assist hikers in accessing the loop part of Rhododendron trail. The Rhododendron Loops will cross under the Power line but will not travel along it.
A WORD OF CAUTION: When we thought we were finishing the Rhododendron Loop, we misunderstood the trail signage and actually went off trail, so part of our hike was on an unnamed trail and our downloadable track includes that mistake. For the proper turn, you can reference the trail map or explore our guide on the Woodland Loop Trail.
The Preserve should provide better signage at the junction where we erred because there is an obvious path that we followed. We did see some signage along the way, but it was mostly to mark the boundaries of the Protected lands. If you find that you have ended up crossing a road or hiking alongside the power line, you have gone off trail and will need to backtrack to get back to the established trails. The unnamed trail we hiked was not blazed, but did lead us back to the All Persons trail. It may be that we were on a retired trail, or at some time in the future, the Preserve will be naming this path and adding it to the established trails in this 640 acre Preserve, but time will tell.
The All Persons Trail is well marked with orange trail blazes. It has a wide, flat accessible substrate of compacted crushed stone. It also includes a long sturdy boardwalk at the Cedar Swamp. There are 7 educational placards installed along the trail as well as several beautiful benches encouraging visitors to stop, rest and learn about this precious ecosystem. Two of these stops include information about the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp and the Giant Rhododendron.
The Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve is the largest protected block of land in the City of Manchester and is managed by The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy manages over 31 preserves across the State of New Hampshire, protecting more than 300,000 acres of land for all nature lovers.
