We enjoy hearing stories of how the MRG is being used, for getting to work, to the grocery store, to CCBA when a road is closed, or, in this case, getting home from the eye doctor. Thanks to Alan Schnur for sharing his story!
My regular eye exam on the Miracle Mile in January required drops to be put in my eyes. I, therefore, could not drive, and needed an alternative way to reach my appointment and return home. I considered several options: 1) asking a friend to drive me, wait, and drive me home, 2) take a taxi, or 3) take the Advance Transit Red Line bus from Colburn Park to the Miracle Mile. I decided to take the AT bus to be sure I arrived on time.
After leaving the doctor’s office, wearing my sunglasses, I remembered an exciting previous experience trying to cross to the bus stop on Route 4 without a crosswalk. Not wishing to repeat that experience, I thought of the Mascoma River Greenway. It took a few tries to find the unmarked path near the Price Chopper parking lot that descends to the Greenway, but when I found the path, getting down to the trail was easy as the snow was already packed. Once on the Greenway, I could easily walk to the recently completed bridge over the Mascoma River, behind The Timken Company — the one with the fantastic view over the Mascoma River. It seemed quite a few people had been walking the trail as the path through the snow was nicely packed. After crossing the bridge, I reached the paved section of the Greenway and found it groomed for walkers (with half the trail left with the original snow cover for cross country skiers).
It was a delightful walk through the quiet, peaceful, beautiful white wonderland. (And healthy too, since I was out in the open air and didn’t have to look around for anyone coughing or sneezing during the January high flu transmission season.) At my slow pace, it took about 40 minutes to reach the High Street end of the Greenway, with the time passing by very quickly. Almost too quickly.
The Mascoma River Greenway is now a fourth, and I think better option for going to my eye doctor. Once the snow melts, the trip will become even more convenient when traveling by bicycle. As promised, the Greenway is a great resource for the Lebanon community!
Alan Schnur
Lebanon
The Mascoma River Greenway 
How long is this awesome walkway? Does it extend into other trails as well.
The MRG portion is about 2.5 miles from High ST to Glen Road. It will eventually connect to the Northern Rail Trail which goes another 60 miles to the Concord area. WE do plan on linking the MRG to the area commonly known as Boston Lot. IT is a large network of trails primarily used by hikers and mountain bikers off of Mascoma Street Extension. Other than that, the MRG will primarily be used as a link to other infrastructure around Lebanon and West Lebanon (i.e. sidewalks, grocery, movie theater, restaurants, parks, etc).