Rail Trails of Connecticut

.

   ALL   CT   MA   ME   NH   RI   VT  Expand ↓ Map 

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

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

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 Connecticut 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
Air Line	Map	47.4 mi	2060, 1190
Air Line Colchester Spur	Map	3.5 mi	110, 50
Air Line North	Map	6 mi	140, 320
Billings Ashpohtag Rd	Map	0.7 mi	30, 50
Billings Grantville Rd	Map	0.8 mi	20, 60
Billings North St	Map	0.8 mi	50, 20
Bloomfield Greenway	Map	2.3 mi	110, 40
Branford Trolley	Map	0.7 mi	20, 30
Cheney Rail Trail	Map	1.8 mi	70, 30
CT Fastrak	Map	4.3 mi	140, 10
Farmington Canal Heritage	Map	22.7 mi	360, 500
Farmington Canal Heritage North	Map	22.4 mi	590, 620
Farmington River Canton	Map	1.8 mi	60, 30
Farmington River Simsbury	Map	3 mi	20, 140
Farmington River Unionville	Map	7.4 mi	160, 210
G&S Trolley	Map	1.1 mi	50, 60
Hop River SP Rockville Spur	Map	4 mi	90, 150
Hop River SP Trail	Map	20.1 mi	520, 700
Kress Family	Map	3.1 mi	70, 160
Lakeville Railroad Ramble	Map	2.1 mi	30, 30
Larkin SP	Map	10.5 mi	450, 470
Litchfield Community Greenway	Map	1.7 mi	30, 20
Mattabesset	Map	1.2 mi	50, 50
Middlebury Greenway	Map	4.5 mi	190, 510
Moosup Valley Rail Trail	Map	7.3 mi	220, 120
Niantic Bay Boardwalk	Map	1 mi	0, 20
Pequonnock River South	Map	1 mi	0, 30
Pequonnock River Valley	Map	9.2 mi	110, 310
Quinnipiac River Gorge aka Hanover Pond	Map	2.4 mi	70, 40
Ridgefield	Map	2.3 mi	0, 200
Still River Greenway aka Sue Grossman	Map	2.8 mi	70, 10
Woodbury Trolley Bed	Map	1.8 mi	350, 10

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

Tangents:
• Trailspotting: Latest New England rail trail reviews
• External: Massachusetts 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 Fire Towers
Discover our map of fire towers and the trails to find them.

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