Methuen Rail Trail with your dog: a 6-foot leash on 2.4 paved miles

Section 23-46 of the Methuen municipal code is the rule that governs a dog on the trail. No one may keep a dog outside the confines of the owner's or keeper's property unless it is held firmly on a leash not exceeding six feet in length. The Animal Control Officer enforces it, and paying a $25 fine to the district court clerk closes the case; the code treats that process as non-criminal and keeps it out of probation records.

Section 23-47 makes the same point from another angle. No owner may let a dog run free without a leash, or let it onto someone else's private property without permission, with a $10 fine and the officer's power to take the dog into custody. A dog that drifts off the path onto a neighboring lot breaks that clause even with the leash on. A retractable leash let out past six feet fails section 23-46 on every stretch, so lock it short or bring a fixed one.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's TrailLink describes the route from north to south. It starts at Hampshire Road in Salem, New Hampshire, at the state line, heads south through Methuen across the Nevins Bird Sanctuary, and ends at Manchester Street Park in Lawrence, which has a playground, picnic tables and a link to the Spicket River Greenway. TrailLink lists the surface as asphalt and crushed stone, says the trail is paved from end to end, and marks it wheelchair accessible.

The sanctuary is the stretch to slow down on. TrailLink describes woodland, marsh and meadow habitats where walkers can spot hawks, herons, egrets, woodpeckers and ducks, and a leashed dog lunging at a heron spoils the walk for you, the bird and everyone behind you. About half a mile farther south stands the Methuen Railroad Depot, built in 1907, at the corner of Union and Railroad Streets, which is also one of the three places to park.

Methuen residents have a second leashed option in Forest Lake Park, in the City Forest, with the swimming area and boat ramp closed to dogs and a gate for residents only; its page here has the details. The city's park list also includes a Gill Ave Dog Park, without published rules or hours. For everyone else the rail trail is the place, and its steady traffic makes it good practice for a dog learning to walk calmly past bikes.

Pavement is kinder to a coat than a lakeshore, but a wet spring walk past the sanctuary's marsh and meadows can still send a dog home muddy. Our bath and brush at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester runs $55, $65, $75, $85 or $95 by size, nail clipping is $16, and grooming is booked without an evaluation. Methuen sits outside the Pup Van towns, so book a bath for a day you are on Cape Ann.