A Sweet Trail to a Great Bay

Four miles long from Longmarsh Road in Durham to the Great Bay Estuary in Newmarket, the Sweet Trail leads hikers by a remarkable array of upland forests, freshwater wetlands and tidal salt marsh. In 1973, shipping and oil magnate Aristotle Onassis planned to build the world’s largest oil refinery on these lands here on Durham Point, with a pipeline stretching all the way out to the Isles of Shoals. Had those plans materialized, they would have forever changed the nature of Great Bay and New Hampshire’s coast. In 1974, however, the plans were defeated by well-organized local residents who understood these lands’ value for nature, recreation, and beauty. Click below to see the full trail, description, and map.