multiple visits since 2013
The Pondicherry section of this refuge (in NH) is lovely. It’s a favorite spot for birders, and the various paths provide fairly easy walking. I have been here multiple times over the years, alone, with my dog, with my kids, and during our Cohos Trail thru-hike in 2017 (the Cohos Trail runs right through the refuge).
There are two parking areas for this refuge. One is the lot for Mud Pond Trail, and the other is for the Presidential Recreation Trail/Pondicherry. This trail takes you to the viewing platform, and a short connector trail (Waumbek) takes you to the railroad tracks, which then leads you to the other three/four refuge trails. I write three/four because the refuge’s website states there are three other trails, but the White Mountain map lists those three and also includes the Colonial Whipple Trail (which I completed in 2017 during my Cohos Trail thru-hike).
Below are photos of the Presidential Recreation Trail from the parking lot to the viewing platform. From the platform, the Presidential Rail Trail heads right toward Gorham; I did the section that runs through Pondicherry when I did the Cohos Trail.
To get to the other three/four trails from the viewing platform, you take the Waumbek Link Trail to the train tracks and walk a tenth of a mile or so.
Little Cherry Pond Trail’s write-up is here.
Shore Path and Rampart Path are teeny little trails that lead you away from the railroad tracks to the pond, and then they bring you right back to the tracks. Both are similar, and both have basically the same view.
Taken on the way back to the rail trail
Rampart and Shore Paths have this view