At one time, the social and commercial fabric of the Northeast was stitched together by railroads. Today, of course, the stitching is done by highways and phone and internet connections, but in many places, the remnants of that rail system still exist in the form of the thousands of miles of rail beds that were built to last.
Some of these long-abandoned and often-neglected rail beds are finding a new and lofty purpose: recreational resources getting people outdoors and exercising. In the winter, these rail trails, often packed and maintained by snowmobilers, are enjoyed by cross-country skiers and dog sledders. In the spring, summer and fall, walkers, joggers, and bicyclists take over. Paved trails are used by skaters and skateboarders. Everyone has a good time.
Rail beds make perfect recreation trails. They are normally high and dry and well drained so they don’t usually get muddy in the spring or after a prolonged rain. They also tend to climb any hills on the route in long, slow gradients rather than steep pitches, which makes it easier for both walkers and bikers.
There are quite a number of rail trails scattered throughout the Northeast, and even more in the planning stages. On some, all you have is a short section, usually in or near a city, that has been rescued from oblivion. But quite a few trails offer a longer ride.
My sweetheart Marilyn and I are enthusiastic pedalers of rail trails. It’s one of the reasons why we chose a fat-tire tandem bike instead of a sleeker, faster road-bike model. The fatter tires on our Co-Motion Java roll easily over gravel, stone dust and cinder trail surfaces.
We haven’t ridden every rail trail in the region. Not even close. But we have ridden some of the more famous ones like the 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, the granddaddy of all Eastern rail rides, which has been completely refurbished in recent years. This was part of our route as we biked Cape Cod end-to-end in 2010. We’ve also ridden a number of less-well-known trails. Here’s a rail-trail sampler to show you how much fun you can have on these great recreational resources.
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Airline Rail Trail
Some time ago, an unavoidable business obligation took Marilyn and me to a crowded, noisy, smokey place that we normally wouldn’t go anywhere near. On the way home, we got in a stress-reducing, sanity-saving hour or two of pedaling on the Air Line Rail Trail in East Hampton, Connecticut, a few minutes southeast of the junction of Interstates 84 and 91 in Hartford. This trail will eventually stretch more than 50 miles to the Massachusetts border where it will join with the Southern New England Trunkline Trail which is still largely unimproved, but, for now, only the southern section, 22.7 miles long, from East Hampton to Windham offers an unbroken ride.
It was a cool and breezy spring afternoon, perfect for leisurely riding. Unfortunately, we’d gotten a much later start than hoped, and we could comfortably explore only the first few miles of the trail. That’s OK; what we saw was beautiful, and left us eager to go back and see more.
Even a crowded state like Connecticut has its quiet, unspoiled corners. This is one of them. The few miles of trail we rode had a whole day’s worth of scenery. In places the trail rose high above the countryside, giving expansive views of woodlands and wetlands. In other places, it cut deep into hillsides where flowing springs tumbled in miniature waterfalls. We rode through quiet woodlands, along streams, and by ponds where people were fishing and photographing the birds.
On our ride, we left behind the stresses of work, had fun, renewed ourselves in a beautiful place. What more could you ask for? All it took was a willingness to get on a bike and pedal.
Rail Trail Bike Rides Aroostook Recreation Trails
Known sometimes at “The Crown of Maine,” or, more simply as “The County,” Aroostook County, is located in the upper right-hand corner not only of the State of Maine, but also of the entire U. S. of A. Next stop, Canada. It’s the largest county in land area east of the Mississippi, covering 6,829 square miles. Less than 75,000 people live there. That leaves a lot of empty space to play outdoors.
Winter in Aroostook Country is the big tourist season. Snowmobilers come from all over, drawn by deep snow and immaculately groomed trails. But, those trails don’t disappear when the snow melts. About 80 miles of them are the old rail beds of the Bangor and Aroostook and Aroostook Valley Railway lines with easy gradients and hard gravel surfaces, perfect for riding a fat-tire bike.
We based our trip out of Caribou, which has lots of inexpensive motels and a couple of great restaurants (Try the Osso Bucco at Napoli’s which is under new ownership, and the Scallops Frangelico at the Greenhouse in the Caribou Inn).
Our ride started in Caribou, and headed toward Washburn for a few miles before turning sharp right and heading toward New Sweden, which has some of the best biking views ever. These trails apparently get lots of traffic from motorized ATVs on the weekends, but the few four-wheelers we saw were no problem at all. There are no sharp corners so everyone can see what’s coming and everyone shares the trail nicely.
Sections of the trail are re-graded every three or four years, so some are rougher than others. Marilyn and I were riding our fat-tire tandem; on most of the trail we flew along comfortably, but in other places a suspension (or suspension seatpost) to cushion some of the bumps would have made the ride more comfortable. In some places we rode through virtual tunnels of spruce trees, in others we could see for miles across rolling country, and still other places crossed wetlands with active beaver workings on both sides of the trail. All of it was beautiful, especially with the last of Autumn’s colors still flaming.
In the town of New Sweden we stopped to refuel at a great little store a half-mile off the end of the trail, then pedaled a short road section (not a single car passed us!) to pick up another fork of the trail that brought us back toward Caribou and our car. In all we covered about 25 miles—less than a third of what’s available.
If you are ever exploring “The County” when there’s no snow, be sure to bring your mountain bike!
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
While exploring the biking in the beautiful Berkshires, we discovered the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail which runs 11.2 miles from the Lanesborough/Pittsfield town line through Cheshire and into the center of Adams. Though the trail parallels busy Route 8, you see very little of the highway. The views, instead are of Berkshire Pond, Mount Greylock and a dozen other hills, the Cheshire Reservoir and the Hoosic River.
This is one of the nicest bike paths we have ever had the pleasure to ride. The only thing it lacked was other riders. Marilyn and I were staying at nearby Jiminy Peak and got up early two mornings to ride the entire trail as a warm-up for a long day of biking. Flat, fast and scenic (especially early in the morning), and with very few road crossings, this is the perfect before-breakfast bike ride on a summer morning.
While chatting with local bikers, we heard rumors that the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail may eventually be extended from Pittsfield all the way to Williamstown, which would let it rival the Cape Cod Rail Trail as one of the truly great recreation paths in all of New England.
As it is now, it’s still well worth the ride. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to check it out.
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Cape Cod Rail Trail
The first Rail Trail I ever encountered and the one I’ve ridden most is the fully paved, 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail that stretches from Dennis to Wellfleet, Mass. It got me hooked the first time I rode it and I’ve ridden it dozens of times since. Every chance I get, as a matter of fact. . . .
The western end of the trail is the most enjoyable for a casual, leisurely ride, maybe combined with a swim on a warm day. This section runs from Route 134 in Dennis (there’s a large parking area just south of exit 9 off the Mid-Cape Highway) into Brewster. Here, the trail winds over easy hills, through shaded woodlands, past cranberry bogs, ponds with beaches and to the Pleasant Lake General Store in Harwich.
The central third (from the Pleasant Lake General Store to Salt Pond Road) used to have a fair amount of roadside riding but much of that has vanished with the addition of a new bridge over Route 6 in Orleans (which reduced the trail’s length from 26 to 22 miles, but improved the quality of the experience). Nickerson State Park, the half-way point of the Rail Trail, boasts both beaches and campsites. Orleans is a convenient turn-around point from either end of the trail with shops, galleries, restaurants and harbor view–the perfect place to take a break. Carry a bike lock and a backpack so you can fully enjoy it!
The eastern third, from Salt Pond Road in Eastham to Le Count Hollow Road in Wellfleet, is straight, flat, and fast, but not particularly scenic. It’s a good place to work up your heart rate. Side trips, to the Visitors Center at the Cape Cod National Seashore and Coast Guard Beach, to Nauset Light or to Marconi Wireless Station, where instantaneous global radio communications began on January 18, 1903, make this section more interesting.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail is free. You can get a trail map or rent a bike from Idle Times Bike Shop , with rental outlets in Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet.
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Island Line Rail Trail
Up in northwestern Vermont, the spectacular 12-mile Island Line Trail actually crosses a portion of Lake Champlain between Burlington and South Hero. You’ve never ridden anything quite like it. We’ve now ridden on this amazing trail three times, once on solo bikes and twice on our tandem. We can’t wait for a fourth time! Sadly, the trail was badly damaged by floods in the spring of 2011, and, as this was written in the summer of 2011, fund raising and volunteer efforts were underway to get the trail repaired. Check with Local Motion for updates on the trail’s recovery
The first time we rode the trail, Marilyn and I were in Burlington researching a travel story and, as usual, we were looking to take advantage of all the wonderful outdoor opportunities that city has to offer. But, according to the weather prognosticators, we were in for the hottest two days in several years with increasing humidity each day.
Fortunately, we were based just a short stroll from Burlington’s busy waterfront. So stroll we did—very slowly—down to Local Motion, a non-profit group which promotes bike trails in the area and rents top-quality hybrid cruiser bikes. We rented our bikes there and then walked them (slowly) back through the blazing inferno to the hotel and put them in storage. (Local Motion doesn’t open until ten o’clock in the morning, so you have to plan ahead for an early morning ride in the summer heat.)
The next morning we were up before the sun, snacked lightly, drank lots of water, and headed out. In the gray early light filtered by the rising mists, the temperature was in the 60s, and a breeze was blowing from the cooler waters of the lake. It felt like Heaven compared to the Hell of the previous afternoon.
There are lots of bike paths around Burlington and in the Champlain Valley. But the jewel in the crown is the Island Line Trail, a rails to trails project that spans 12.5 miles of mostly-level riding along the lake. With the rising sun slowly burning off the morning clouds, and the air still cool, the Island Line Trail was just magical. For the first hour, we had the path completely to ourselves as we pedaled north, out of Burlington toward the Champlain Islands, a great place for pedaling and paddling.
At just under the 10-mile marker, (we started at Mile Two), the trail suddenly bursts from the woods and follows the old rail line out on a man-made causeway dividing Malletts Bay from the main body of Lake Champlain. The rail line was built on a bed of huge blocks of marble dumped onto the lake bed and filled in with gravel. Flat and gently curving, it makes a perfect bike trail for a hybrid or mountain bike.
We rode out onto this incredibly beautiful stretch of path just as the sun finally began burning through the last of the morning haze, but the breeze off the water kept things comfortably cool. We rode on to the 12.5-mile mark, where a drawbridge has been removed, preventing you from continuing on to South Hero. In the summer, at least on weekends, there’s a ferry to take bicycles across this gap, but it doesn’t run at 6:30 in the morning.
As we rode back toward Burlington, the sun began to increase in strength, and the trail became busier with walkers, joggers and other cyclists. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was a hot summer day. We showered, strolled out for breakfast at Penny Cluse Café, and got on with the day’s “work”.
Since then, we’ve been back twice and enjoyed every mile of the trail on our tandem. This is one of the great rail trail experiences.
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail
Historic St. Albans, Vermont (believe it or not, the site of a Civil War Confederate raid!) is the start of the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail . From there it winds its way 26.4 miles northeast to the town of Richford, Vermont, right on the Canadian border.
Marilyn’s favorite outdoor pastime spring, summer and fall is riding our fat-tire tandem bike, and there’s no place she’d rather ride than on a rail trail. The Missisquoi Rail Trail is a beauty with a smooth, packed gravel surface and easy grades. It runs mostly through stunningly bucolic Vermont countryside with farm fields and pastures, occasionally small towns. Enosburg Falls at mile 16.5 is a perfect spot to stop for lunch. If your pedaling partner doesn’t happen to be a nutrition counselor who is concerned about your cholesterol numbers, there’s a wonderful spot for soft-serve ice cream cones (they call them “creemies” in Vermont) a few miles beyond Enosburg Falls. Unfortunately we had other stops to make. Sigh.
That last third of the trip has Jay Peak looming in your sights as you pedal beside the Missisquoi River. You can watch it get closer with each turn of the pedals.
Eventually, the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail will be extended to the nearby Canadian Border, where it will connect with Quebec’s Route Verte—an extensive network of bicycle paths and bike lanes that crisscrosses the entire Province. There are also plans in the works to build the connecting Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which will run 92 miles from Swanton to St. Johnsbury. The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST), a statewide snowmobile club is spearheading this effort. Hooray for them!
Even without those additional enticements, the Missisquoi Rail Trail is worth visiting. If 53 miles is too much for you to ride in a day, take a couple of days, staying at Inns on either end of the trail. Or, stay somewhere on Lake Champlain—there are quiet B&B’s, inexpensive motels and campgrounds all around here. Make an active vacation of it!
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Northern Rail Trail
The Northern Rail Trail (NRT) in Grafton and Merrimack Counties of New Hampshire is shaping up to be one of the best rail trail rides in all of New England. The stone-dust or gravel surface is firm, easy to pedal on (especially with a fat tire or cyclocross bike), and the scenery is beautiful. And, maybe someday, the two great organizations which created this marvelous trail will be able to cooperate on a single website devoted to it . . .
This trail is particularly convenient to reach. If you are traveling on Interstate 91 in Vermont, or 93 in New Hampshire, you are only 15 minutes from a trail terminus, and access from I-89 is even faster. If your bike is on the car anyway, why not stop and ride for an hour or two?
Though the NRT essentially parallels either Route 4 or Route 11 for its entire length, you don’t often see or even hear motor vehicles. Much of the time you are riding through quiet woods and fields, alongside beautiful flowing streams and placid ponds.
The northern end of the trail in Grafton County, was finished first. It runs 23 miles from downtown Lebanon through Enfield, Canaan, Orange and Grafton. Another 23 miles in Merrimack County have now been completed. This section runs through Danbury, Wilmot, and Andover to end (for the moment at least) in Boscawen. Eventually, the trail will grow to 65 miles in length, continuing on to Boscawen and Concord; though in these days of tight money and endless budget fights, who knows when that will happen?
Marilyn and I have been riding short sections of the NRT when we were in the neighborhood on other business. We did all of it in 2015 . . .
On one recent summer morning, we pulled into the parking area at Potter Place, right off the junction of Routes 4 and 11, and started pedaling east toward Franklin. We only had about an hour to ride and hoped we could get in 10 or 12 miles or so. Not a “big” ride, but fun nonetheless.
This section of trail is almost flat (most rail lines avoided hills as much as possible) and has a nicely packed gravel/stone dust surface. It runs along the Blackwater River, through pine and hardwood forests, skirting the edges of some beautiful wetlands. Gorgeous scenery for a summer morning.
We’d pedaled only about two miles before we came upon a lovely covered bridge we’d never seen before. At about the 6-mile mark we ran out of time and turned around at the Higland Lake Inn in East Andover which looks like it would make a perfect overnight stop for a weekend getaway along the trail.
On another memorable occasion we started on Riverside Drive in Lebanon in the shadow of I-89, pedaled out for an hour or so (12-13 miles at our normal pace) turned around and pedaled back. This section of the trail is flat—no hills at all–and the surface is mostly packed stone dust or gravel. It had been very rainy in the days before, but we only found a couple of wet spots.
Our ride took us past Mascoma Lake (wonderful views), through the tiny village of Enfield (potential lunch spot at the deli/market in the center of town), and out through the wilds of Canaan. The trail crosses lots of streams and rivers on nicely surfaced bridges (many heartfelt thanks to the snowmobile clubs that maintain them!). It’s just a perfect ride.
Someday soon, we’ll take two cars, make a real adventure of it and ride the whole NRT end-to-end in one day. But for now, these section rides out and back are a perfect break on a busy summer morning. For us, 46 miles of pedaling would make a good long day and this is one trail we are looking forward to doing end-to-end-to-end. Maybe we’ll see you there . . .
Rail Trail Bike Rides: Finding Other Rail Trails
New England and New York are blessed with an abundance of old railroad beds, many of which are rideable on fat-tire bikes. The Rails to Trails Conservancy is the driving force behind much of this trail development, and they maintain the most complete free list I’ve found of Rail Trails in the Northeast and in most states across the country. Just go under “Find A Trail” and click on either a state or a region to find listings. There are 392 open trails in the northeast totaling over 3200 miles.
If you ride in New Hampshire, be sure to get a copy of Charles F. Martin’s book, New Hampshire Rail Trails, which gives the history of the rail lines along with useful info for today’s bikers. The website itself also has some useful links to other trail organizations.
In addition to the two trails profiled above, Massachusetts has the 11-mile Nashua River Rail Trail, which is completed and ready to ride. The 11-mile Norwottuck Rail Trail, in Northampton, Hadley, and Amherst is complete and will eventually anchor one end of the 104-mile Mass. Central Rail Trail leading all the way to Boston. There’s also one called the Southern New England Trunkline Trail a 20-mile trail runs between the Franklin and Douglas State Forests along the Rhode Island and Connecticut borders. Apparently, however, this trail can’t be ridden end to end as most bridges along the route are out or unsafe.
Up in Maine, there’s a whole slew of rail trails in the area just north and west of Bangor. The Lagrange to Medford trail is 11 miles long, the Newport to Dover-Foxcroft is 26 miles. This looks perfect for a multi-day getaway. The Downeast Sunrise Trail runs from Washington Junction in Ellsworth to Ayers Junction just south of Calais. And, Aroostook County has a number of rail trails.
If you know any good rail trails I’ve missed, email me and I’ll add them. The more people who ride these trails, the more trails we’ll have to enjoy in the future.
Since new trails are always in development, the list is never complete. If you really want to explore, check out these historic topographical maps—which lists then-active railroads. Some of these old roadbeds are just waiting for the crunch of your boot soles or bike treads.
Trail Etiquette
On the more popular rail trails, people are moving at different speeds as they walk, skate or bike, so people are always passing each other. Since there typically isn’t any motorized traffic, you can sometimes be lulled into a false sense of security and get careless. When people get careless, accidents happen.
Here are some thoughts for safety.
1) Be aware of your surroundings and alert for anyone moving faster than you are.
2) Pedestrians and cyclists alike should follow the rules of the road, with cyclists riding on the right and pedestrians walking facing on-coming traffic. The center of the trail should be treated as a “passing lane” not a travel lane.
3) Cyclists passing pedestrians should communicate their intentions well ahead of time (especially if the pedestrians are walking with their backs to you) and slow down until they are sure the walkers know they are there. Get one of those little handlebar bells; it’s a friendly way to let people know that you’re behind them and about to pass. Having a mirror on your bike is a good idea, too, so YOU know if someone is about to pass you.
4) Don’t wear headphones! especially when walking or running or cycling. Listening to music, you’re cutting yourself off from voice communication. Not only are you missing bird calls and the natural sounds of wind and water, you are also putting yourself and the people around you at greater risk. Think about it.
Some popular rail trails can get very crowded on weekends in good weather, with everyone from tiny tots in backpacks to active seniors all out enjoying a little fresh air and exercise. If everyone is courteous and aware of others using the path, and keeps to their own side of the trail, the mix of uses works just fine.
My wife Carol and I had a very pleasant ride along the Northern Rail Trail last weekend. Thanks for recommending it.
We started at Potter Place and rode north to Danbury. We stopped into both general stores just for a look around before riding back to Potter Place where we walked through the restored antique caboose and museum to take in a taste of local history. Then we rode a few miles south just past Andover and back. The ride, in both directions, was easy and pretty, passing ponds and meadows interrupted by more thickly forested areas and granite walls. There is an ever-so-slight grade but the level path makes riding easy enough in both directions. Since it was minimally populated by joggers, bikes and 2 horse back riders we were able to vary our speed for an additional work out between casual riding miles. I’m looking forward to riding a good deal more of the path and its eventual connection to Concord.
Dave,
Thanks for writing. I’ve ridden the sections you describe and couldn’t agree more. What a wonderful recreational resource these trails are–and this one is never crowded, even on weekends.
Great resources. We regularly search out rail trails to ride our Sun tandem bike on. You mentioned your fat-tire tandem–the Sun tandem also has larger tires and manages well on rougher terrain. It’s also a slightly foot-forward tandem, and once we modified the gears to add more gears to it it’s worked great. Thanks for the info.
Hey Tim,
There is a trail from the town of Ashuelot up through Keene and on to Walpole that is varied and charming.