Lehtinen Park is the site of the Jim Hill River Walk along the Contoocook River. James Clark Hill, 1975-2002, grew up near the park and was an avid hiker. He graduated from Concord High School in 1993 and from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997 with a degree in environmental economics. Later he studied conservation law at the University of Montana School of Law at Missoula. For one year he served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in New Hampshire, protecting our lakes and rivers.
A sign at the beginning of the trail on Runnells Road reads: “This beautiful trail is dedicated in recognition of Jim Hill's passion for preserving our natural environment and scenic wild places for the enjoyment of future generations. Jim's commitment to this admirable purpose serves as a model for young people everywhere.”
One part of the trail crosses a popular snowmobile trail. While I was snowshoeing on the Jim Hill River Walk after two big snowstorms, a snowmobiler stopped to describe the location where he had seen a moose. So I was off on a “wild moose chase.” I never did see the moose, but I saw some beautiful, scenic, wild places in the middle of nowhere.
There is another entrance to the trail on Horse Hill Road. Nice parking spaces are at both entrances. Near the Horse Hill Road entrance is a monument honoring Gustaf Lehtinen for whom the park is named. Lehtinen was Concord's first planning director from 1936 to 1976.
This entrance is near Hero's Recreational Bridge made possible by the Town Line Trail Dusters Snowmobile Club to provide access to both sides of the Contoocook River's vast recreational areas. The bridge had been located in Idaho for 25 years before being purchased for $65,000 and brought to New Hampshire on five tractor trailers for an additional cost of $25,000 in 2008. The bridge's manufacturer, Acrow Bridge Co., estimates the bridge to have a life of 150 years.
On a peninsula extending out into an elbow of the river there is a picnic area known as Daisy Beach. When I was there, the two picnic tables were barely visible under 3 feet of snow. A long rope hung cold and lifeless from a stout tree limb high over the frozen river. During the summer this rope is busy delivering swinging swimmers into the middle of the river in a gigantic splash amid cheers of excitement. I took a photo of my shadow dangling on the rope which will not see much action until the first warm days of summer.
A person cannot be in the Lehtinen Park or on the Jim Hill River Walk without being aware of the dedication and sacrifice made by others in preserving the treasures of natural beauty we can enjoy today in Concord's back yard, even on a “wild moose chase.”
