Cheshire and Merrimack Counties, New Hampshire Covered Bridge Road Trip: 11 Bridges in One Day

11 stops161 milesabout 4 hr 30 min of drivingCheshire and Merrimack Counties, New Hampshire

This route strings together 11 covered bridges across four New Hampshire counties, starting in Cheshire and passing through Hillsborough and Merrimack before finishing in Sullivan. It runs 161 miles with about four and a half hours of driving, so plan on a full day once you add time at each bridge. The first stretch follows one river: five bridges cross the Ashuelot and a sixth spans its South Branch. After that come the Contoocook and a pair over the Warner River. Six of the eleven are Town lattice trusses, and the dates on record run from 1832 at West Swanzey to a 2001 reproduction at Slate. Every stop is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The longer legs fall in the second half, one of them 65 minutes. Start early, check access locally, and expect cell coverage to be patchy on rural roads.

Route and drive times from OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM). Times are estimates without stops; roads to remote sites can be unpaved or seasonal.

1. 1. Coombs Covered Bridge

   Cheshire County, New Hampshire

   

   The day opens in Winchester at this Town lattice bridge over the Ashuelot River, listed on the National Register. Its records don't quite agree. Most sources date it to 1837, though Wikipedia's text says 1843, and the length appears as either 107 or 118 ft. Either way, it's a fitting first look at the lattice style you'll see again on this river.

   Facts, map and sources for Coombs Covered Bridge →

2. ↓ 7.7 miles, about 14 min

   2. Ashuelot Covered Bridge

   Cheshire County, New Hampshire · built 1864

   

   About 14 minutes on (7.7 miles), this two-span Town lattice bridge also crosses the Ashuelot River. It was approved in 1864 and paid for by March 1865, then reopened in 1999 after a $667,000 rehabilitation. Sources list its length as 159, 169 or 178 ft, so no single figure is given here.

   Facts, map and sources for Ashuelot Covered Bridge →

3. ↓ 8.6 miles, about 15 min

   3. Slate Covered Bridge

   Cheshire County, New Hampshire · built 2001

   

   The Slate Covered Bridge in Swanzey is a 2001 reproduction of an 1862 Town lattice bridge that arsonists destroyed on March 8, 1993. It's about 15 minutes (8.6 miles) from the Ashuelot bridge and crosses the same river. The listed length is 142 ft, while Bridgehunter gives 143.1 ft.

   Facts, map and sources for Slate Covered Bridge →

4. ↓ 2.4 miles, about 5 min

   4. West Swanzey Covered Bridge

   Cheshire County, New Hampshire · built 1832

   

   Only five minutes down the road, you reach the West Swanzey Covered Bridge, also called the Thompson Bridge. Zadoc Taft built this two-span Town lattice bridge over the Ashuelot River in 1832. Length figures vary quite a bit: 136 ft 10 in, 151 ft, or about 156 ft depending on the source.

   Facts, map and sources for West Swanzey Covered Bridge →

5. ↓ 3.2 miles, about 7 min

   5. Sawyers Crossing Covered Bridge

   Cheshire County, New Hampshire · built 1859

   

   Seven minutes and 3.2 miles further, Sawyers Crossing Covered Bridge, also known as the Cresson Bridge, dates from 1859. It's a two-span Town lattice bridge over the Ashuelot River, built to replace a bridge from 1771. Sources can't settle the length, offering 158, 159 or 117 ft.

   Facts, map and sources for Sawyers Crossing Covered Bridge →

6. ↓ 2.6 miles, about 6 min

   6. Carleton Bridge

   Cheshire County, New Hampshire · built 1869

   

   There's been a bridge at this spot on the South Branch Ashuelot River since about 1789. The current one, built in 1869 and measuring 67 ft 3 in, is the area's only surviving 19th-century Queenpost truss, a change from the lattice designs earlier in the day. It was repaired and reopened in 1997. The drive from Sawyers Crossing is about six minutes.

   Facts, map and sources for Carleton Bridge →

7. ↓ 32.8 miles, about 54 min

   7. Hancock-Greenfield Bridge

   Hillsborough County, New Hampshire · built 1937

   

   Allow about 54 minutes (32.8 miles) for the run into Hillsborough County. Also called County Bridge, this crossing of the Contoocook River went up in 1937 with a timber Teco-Pratt truss, replacing an 1852 bridge damaged in the 1936 flood. It's listed at 88 ft, with Bridgehunter giving 87.9 ft total.

   Facts, map and sources for Hancock-Greenfield Bridge →

8. ↓ 34.9 miles, about 55 min

   8. Dalton Covered Bridge

   Merrimack County, New Hampshire · built 1853

   

   Another long leg, about 55 minutes and 34.9 miles, brings you to Warner, where the Dalton Covered Bridge carries Joppa Road over the Warner River. Joshua Sanborn built it, the record gives 1853 as its year, and it was rebuilt in 1963-64. Length figures differ: a 76 ft span, 77 ft, or 84 ft total.

   Facts, map and sources for Dalton Covered Bridge →

9. ↓ 2.7 miles, about 6 min

   9. Waterloo Covered Bridge

   Merrimack County, New Hampshire

   

   Just six minutes away, the Waterloo Covered Bridge is a Town lattice truss carrying Newmarket Road over the same Warner River. Its date is unsettled, with sources giving 1840, 1857 or 1859-60, and one source says it was rebuilt in 1970. The length on record is 84 ft.

   Facts, map and sources for Waterloo Covered Bridge →

10. ↓ 39.3 miles, about 1 hr 5 min

    10. Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge

    Sullivan County, New Hampshire · built 1882

    

    A 65-minute drive (39.3 miles) leads to Cornish and James Tasker's multiple kingpost truss over Mill Brook. The record gives 1882 as the build year, with Tasker paid in 1883, and the bridge was rededicated in 1983 after restoration. Its length is given as 77 ft 9 in, 78 ft or 81 ft exterior.

    Facts, map and sources for Dingleton Hill Covered Bridge →

11. ↓ 26.6 miles, about 43 min

    11. Prentiss Bridge

    Sullivan County, New Hampshire · built 1874

    

    The route ends about 43 minutes (26.6 miles) on at the shortest historic covered bridge in New Hampshire. Dating from 1874, the Prentiss Bridge was bypassed in 1954-55. Even its modest size is debated: the NRHP form says 30 ft, while other sources give 35 or 36 ft.

    Facts, map and sources for Prentiss Bridge →