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Written by GOseacoast Walks
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SCENIC LOCAL WALKS
Durham, NH
Attending college at UNH is, in itself, a scenic daily walk, especially in the
autumn. Just beyond the Field House and the Whittemore Center, walkers get a test
of the rural school, the way it used to be.
Name: UNH Horse Brns & Smith Equine Center
Location: At the Field House end of Maine Street in Durham turn up Mast Road
Extension
Resources: Parking area, horses in barns and in corrals, exhibit facilities,
field trail
Rules: Barns open 1 a.m. to 8 pm daily.
walking trails, some with limited access, lots of roots to twist an ankle on.
Dogs: We didn’t see any rules posted, but there were dogs around.
Web Site: University of New Hampshire
English majors often forget that the University of New Hampshire began as a farm
school. The farm is still there, bigger than ever, and branching off that tree
is the equine center. The University keeps about 35 horses in an enormously long
barn and sponsors two horse trails and a dressage annually.
 The casual Durham walker can make a nice loop up Mast Road Extension and through
the horse corrals, down to and through the horse barn and back behind the college
buildings. There is a field back there, a nice rural spot, that passes by a number
of private homes and a family cemetery behind an early 20th century metal fence.
Horse people, of course, know this area well. The UNH horses are used in the
college riding program, a therapeutic riding program, and in the prevet and equine
science teaching classes. Despite that multi-layered workout, they seemed especially
friendly during out hike, even to an English major.
For more info on the horse program(603) 862-3757.
Photos by J. Dennis Robinson
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