Rail Trails of Massachusetts

.

   ALL   CT   MA   ME   NH   RI   VT  Expand ↓ Map 

Rail trail, Access trail, Road bike, Live rail, Historic route.

New England Fire Towers
Discover our map of fire towers and the trails to find them.

Flat and wide trails criss-cross the state through woodland, past ponds, along rivers, over historic bridges and between charming small towns. Often separated from road traffic by miles, these routes once carried steam trains but now offer tranquility and a way to explore New England like never before.

Rail Trails - Enjoyed daily by hikers, cyclists, horse riders and more. Choose a state from the top of the map and we have lists of all the rail trails complete with trail lengths, elevation gain, trail conditions and maps you can download to your phone.

Live Rail - Walking along railroad track is not only illegal but dangerous, including track that you might believe to be inactive.

Historic Rail - Track may remain, or might have been removed decades ago. Some sections have been built over and others cross private property and are not accessible to the public. Traces of long-gone railroads can also be a valuable resource to help towns and trail planners identify and resurrect old railroad routes as new public parks and trails.

Trailspotting doesn't stop here. We are exploring every rail trail and providing individual rail trail reviews that include detailed route mapping and photography. Links to rail trail reviews for Massachusetts are shown below and you can see our latest rail trail reviews using the link at the bottom of the page.

Rail Trail	Review	Length	Gain	Cond
Alewife Linear	Map	0.8 mi	0, 0
Amesbury River Walk	4★	1.3 mi	70, 60	Good
Ashburnham	Map	1.3 mi	70, 60
Ashburnham South	Map	0.4 mi	10, 20
Ashuwillticook	Map	13.6 mi	420, 150
Assabet River	Map	12.4 mi	490, 260
Bay Colony	Map	6.7 mi	210, 270
Bedford Narrow Gauge	3★	3.3 mi	30, 110	OK
Belchertown Mass Central	Map	5 mi	130, 200
Berlin-Waltham Mass Central	Map	26.4 mi	580, 920
Blackstone River Bwy North	Map	0.6 mi	20, 20
Boxford	3★	3.7 mi	50, 60	Rough
Bradford	Map	0.8 mi	0, 20
Brimfield Grand Trunk	Map	2.4 mi	30, 40
Bruce Freeman	Map	24.2 mi	610, 520
Canalside	Map	3.6 mi	90, 110
Cape Cod	4★	28.5 mi	720, 700	Good
Cape Cod Canal Bwy	Map	6.7 mi	80, 80
Center	Map	0.7 mi	50, 0
Chelsea Gwy	Map	0.6 mi	10, 10
Chickadee (aka Athol Branch)	Map	2.3 mi	70, 90
Clinton Mass Central	Map	1.2 mi	30, 30
Clipper City	3★	3.5 mi	70, 70	Good
Cochituate	Map	3.3 mi	110, 70
Collins Cove	3★	0.7 mi	10, 10	Good
Columbia Gwy	Map	3 mi	100, 40
Concord River Gwy	Map	0.4 mi	20, 0
Connecticut Riverwalk	Map	3.7 mi	50, 50
Danvers	4★	5.1 mi	110, 90	Good
Danvers Connector	3★	1.2 mi	10, 20	Rough
East Boston Gwy	5⭐	2.0 mi	20, 20	Good
Essex Railway Trail	4★	2.2 mi	20, 30	Rough
Fitchburg Cutoff	Map	0.8 mi	0, 0
Georgetown	3★	4.1 mi	70, 50	Rough
Groveland	Map	2.0 mi	80, 10
Ghost Trail	4★	2.6 mi	80, 60	Good
Gilbertville Mass Central	Map	0.6 mi	40, 10
Haggets	Map	1.6 mi	20, 30
Hanover Branch	Map	2.7 mi	40, 80
Holden Mass Central	Map	1.9 mi	50, 130
Housatonic	Map	2.8 mi	80, 180
Jay McLaren	3★	2.0 mi	30, 80	OK
Manhan	Map	7.3 mi	180, 130
Manhan East Spur	Map	2.3 mi	50, 70
Mansfield WWII Vet Mem	Map	1.6 mi	0, 20
Marblehead	3★	3.4 mi	90, 70	Good
Marshfield North	Map	3.4 mi	60, 90
Marshfield South	Map	0.7 mi	30, 10
Mary V Flynn	Map	0.8 mi	40, 30
Mattapoisett	Map	5.4 mi	140, 120
Metacomet Wrentham	Map	3.4 mi	140, 100
Methuen	Map	2.3 mi	10, 70
Middleton	3★	3.0 mi	80, 50	Good
Minuteman Bikeway	4★	10 mi	170, 280	Good
Nashua River	4★	12.2 mi	320, 280	Good
Neponset Trail	Map	3.6 mi	70, 90
Newton Upper Falls Gwy	Map	0.9 mi	40, 10
Nissitissit	Map	1.3 mi	10, 20
North Brookfield	Map	1.2 mi	10, 120
North Central Pathway	4★	9.5 mi	310, 160	Good
Northampton	Map	5.7 mi	90, 340
Northern Strand	4★	9.6 mi	120, 140	Good
Norton	Map	4.9 mi	60, 100
Norwottuck Rail Trail	Map	10.6 mi	170, 190
Oakdale Mass Central	Map	3.6 mi	50, 210
Old Colony	4★	7.5 mi	220, 220	Good
Old Colony Nature	3★	1.5 mi	40, 50	Rough
Old Eastern Marsh Trail	4★	3.8 mi	40, 90	Good
Peabody Independence Gwy	3★	6.0 mi	100, 90	Good
Plainville	Map	0.7 mi	0, 20
Plymouth Bike Path	Map	0.9 mi	10, 10
Quequechan River	Map	2 mi	10, 20
Quinebaug Valley	Map	3.8 mi	50, 40
Red Line Path	Map	2.2 mi	20, 30
Redstone	Map	1.6 mi	20, 20
Reformatory Branch Trail	4★	3.9 mi	70, 70	OK
Russell Bird Sanctury	Map	0.6 mi	30, 40
Salem Bike Path	3★	10.7 mi	170, 210	Good
Shining Sea Bwy	5⭐	10.6 mi	170, 200	Good
Somerville Community Path	Map	1.4 mi	30, 20
Southern NE Trunkline (SNETT)	Map	22.9 mi	700, 920
Southwick	Map	6.2 mi	150, 130
Spenser Depot	Map	1.7 mi	30, 130
Squannacook River	Map	1.8 mi	20, 40
Sterling Mass Central	Map	2 mi	20, 50
Stony Brook	Map	2.4 mi	120, 100
SW Corridor Park	Map	3.8 mi	70, 40
Topsfield	3★	5.9 mi	50, 100	Good
Tri Community Gwy	Map	2.1 mi	130, 30
Twin Cities	Map	3.7 mi	50, 90
Upper Charles	Map	9.2 mi	290, 210
Upper Charles West	Map	4.2 mi	80, 160
Wachusett Mass Central	Map	11.8 mi	690, 480
Ware North Mass Central	Map	2.8 mi	50, 110
Ware River Central	Map	2.4 mi	50, 20
Ware River North	Map	6 mi	180, 120
Ware River South	Map	12.9 mi	150, 440
Ware South Mass Central	Map	1.6 mi	50, 60
Watertown Linear Park	3★	0.3 mi	0, 20	Good
Watertown-Cambridge Gwy	3★	2.2 mi	40, 20	Good
Wayland-Weston Mass Central	Map	8.5 mi	210, 290
Webster South	Map	1.4 mi	50, 40
West Bridgewater	Map	0.8 mi	10, 20
Westville Grand Trunk	Map	3 mi	180, 230
Wheelwright Mass Central	Map	2.7 mi	60, 50
Whitney Spur	Map	2.5 mi	50, 40

Definitions:
Good: Asphalt or hardpack trail conditions
OK: Occasionally rough surface
Rough: Hiking & mountain/rugged bikes
Gain: Elevation gain (ft) moving West to East or North to South. Second number is return gain.

Tangents:
• Trailspotting: Latest rail trail reviews, Cycle Route Resources
• External: MA Rail Trails Facebook Group

More photos, leave a comment:
Trailspotting Facebook Group
Reddit at r/Trailspotting

Best Bike Rides in New England
David Sobel's 2022 book includes some rail trails and goes beyond, onto the scenic backroads of the northeast states (affiliate link).

New England Covered Bridges
Maps, lists, directions and nearby trails to New England's covered bridges.

Trail Gear Suggestions
Our trail essentials, bicycles and photography gear.