By Marty Basch

If all goes according to plan, the 162-mile Cohos Trail in northern New Hampshire will be completed this year.

Hikers can already ramble its length from the tiny community of Hart's Location in the White Mountains to the sportsman's Utopia of Pittsburg near the Canadian border by incorporating long walks on paved roads.

More than 15 miles of hiking trails are scheduled to be developed this summer in the Connecticut River headwaters area near the Quebec line. Several miles are slated to be open to hikers this summer too.

"These would be the last completed miles of the Cohos Trail, said Kim Robert Nilsen, director of the non-profit Cohos Trail Association. "These would replace a good deal of road walking in the far north now, eliminating virtually all of Route 3 from just south of First Connecticut Lake all the way to Deer Mountain Campground (a state-run campground a few miles south of the Canadian border)."

Nilsen said most of the trails were planned and laid out last year, but on-the-ground work will commence in earnest in late spring.

Nilsen said that by completing the long-distance trail, more hikers may make the trek into central and northern Coos, and more local citizens will have ready access to a trail system that families can enjoy.