Stratham Hill Park – Multi-Use Community Park Investment and Connectivity

Stratham Hill Park (SHP) has become one of the Seacoast region’s premier outdoor recreation destinations, offering residents and visitors a wide mix of amenities across its 225 acres. The park features a scenic hilltop tower, multi-use trails for hiking, biking, and running, open fields, a seasonal ice rink, and gathering areas that support year-round community events. Recent investments have transformed SHP into a true four-season anchor for the community, providing opportunities for recreation, connection, and stewardship. A centerpiece of this transformation has been SHP strategic investment in mountain biking infrastructure. The town has developed a purpose-built pump track that serves as a hub and meeting space, invested in a fleet of rental bikes, and built strong partnerships with local schools, race organizations, and youth cycling programs. Organizations such as New England Youth Cycling (NEYC) bring families and teams from across the region, generating revenue and community pride. Importantly, revenue from biking activities—including rentals, races, and camps—fully funds the costs of maintaining biking facilities, creating a self-sustaining model that reinvests directly into infrastructure while benefiting other user groups like hikers, runners, and dog walkers. Together, these efforts showcase SHP as a model for how towns can expand recreation while balancing community needs, economic sustainability, and environmental stewardship.

The Problem

As demand for diverse recreation opportunities grew, SHP faced challenges in meeting user needs, sustaining high-quality trail systems, and balancing multiple uses in SHP. Mountain biking in particular was rapidly growing in popularity, but infrastructure and planning had not kept pace. Without coordinated investment and partnerships, the park risked trail conflicts, missed opportunities to for youth engagement, and underutilization of its unique community assets.

The Solution

SHP responded with a targeted, multi-year investment strategy that emphasized biking while reinforcing SHP’s multi-use identity. This included construction of a purpose-built bike pump track, acquisition of a fleet of mountain bikes for rental, and a winter trail grooming program to support four-season use. To ensure balanced and collaborative management, the town established the Trail Management Advisory Committee (TMAC) to oversee trail governance, signage, and policy — serving as a vital liaison between the town, bikers, and other user groups. SHP also built strong partnerships with NEMBA and adjacent private landowners, extending trail connectivity beyond park boundaries while promoting shared stewardship and consistent trail standards. In addition, the park subcontracted summer mountain bike camps to a private provider, with a portion of revenue flowing back to SHP, and invested in events and programs that attract regional participation. Together, these efforts positioned SHP as both a local hub and a regional model for outdoor recreation development.

How They Did It

• Capital investments in biking infrastructure: Built a community pump track, purchased a fleet of rental bikes, and added kiosks/maps to improve wayfinding.
• Collaborative trail governance: The Trail Management Advisory Committee (TMAC) oversees planning and maintenance, ensuring input from bikers, hikers, dog walkers, runners, and other trail users.
• Community hub for biking: Hosted NEYC youth races, supported local high school mountain bike teams (e.g., Exeter and Portsmouth High School), and created a venue for regional race series and practices.
• Year-round access: Expanded the model to all four seasons by grooming trails for winter biking, snowshoeing, and running.
• Revenue reinvestment model: Income from races, rentals, and camps fully funds biking operations and maintenance, creating a self-sustaining system with additional revenue for future improvements.
• Shared stewardship and education: Promoted responsible use with signage, trail etiquette campaigns, and volunteer opportunities.

The Goal

To create a balanced, sustainable, multi-use recreation system where biking infrastructure not only supports its primary users but also benefits hikers, runners, dog walkers, and other groups — while building SHP into a true community hub and self-sustaining model of recreation investment.

What Makes It Work

• Multi-user benefits: Investments in biking also improve trails and amenities for hikers, runners, and dog walkers.
• Hub for community and youth engagement: NEYC races, school teams, and bike camps bring youth and families together while generating revenue.
• Pump track as a model: SHP has become a regional leader in pump track design, with other communities seeking guidance.
• Revenue reinvestment: All biking-related income funds 100% of operations and maintenance for biking facilities, ensuring sustainability and growth.
• Four-season approach: Winter grooming programs extend recreation year-round.
• Collaborative management: TMAC provides structure and balance between user groups.

The Bigger Message

SHP demonstrates how a community can strategically invest in recreation infrastructure that is financially self-sustaining, socially inclusive, and environmentally responsible. Its approach to multi-use community park investment and connectivity — through biking facilities, trail expansion, seasonal amenities, and open space planning — offers a model for other towns seeking to balance tradition with innovation in municipal parks and recreation. By building biking facilities that serve as both community hubs and regional draws, while reinvesting revenues directly back into maintenance and growth, SHP has created a framework other towns can follow. The park shows how municipalities can leverage recreation to meet diverse user needs, foster community development, generate revenue, and serve as long-term stewards of open space.