Explore the best rated trails in Hartford, CT. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Windsor River Trail and Niantic Bay Boardwalk. With more than 52 trails covering 398 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
It’s a beautiful trail. BUT, please beware of the yellow post they have installed at all the road crossings to keep motor vehicles off the trail. As I was crossing the road at one of the crossings, as I came back onto the trail my handlebar caught the post and sandwiched me in my bike and the bike and I went down hard. I ended up fracturing my back. So please be careful on this trail through Southwick.
The pavement is decent, but there’s no marked center line. Biggest complaint is that the trail primarily goes downhill as you go east, and primarily uphill as you go west, so you’re going to hate one direction or the other. Decent views. Poor road-to-trail transitions with broken up pavement and sand which is a nightmare for in-line skates. Much prefer the Cochituate rail trail
If you ride longboard or inline skate. Get ready for terrible ground. if you start from Bolton State Park.. After 6.5 miles of riding... The ground is so mess up. There is so many cracks on the ground. Just be careful. Beside that, this trails has best downhill and cool turns.
Updates needed for map. Past the Ed Calcutt bridge, the trail spur to River Road is closed as private property. However the main trail has been completed along the river to Farquhar Road, adding about a mile to the existing trail. From the Farquhar Road exit you can take a left on the roadway to reach River Road.
I rode the Northern section of the trail, (the section north of rt 5 and on the east side of the river) so this review is about that, and how I got there. The trail appears to be nice and well maintained, it is in a larger city so it does have some city issues, but I always felt safe. Views are mostly of the Connecticut river and the rail line, Basketball hall of fame doesn't really look great from the trail, and the park along the trail is less interesting than the river itself. If you like looking at railway infrastructure that is still in use this trail will not disappoint either.
I used the Springfield train station to get food, drinks, and use the restroom, there was enough room to easily get my bike into the bathroom.
I took the Hartford line train from Wallingford CT to get to Springfield and I was really happy about how easy it was to do that, YMMV as CT line staff are being lazy and not opening the bike rack doors on some trains. I did this trail mostly to see how easy it is to take the train to the trail and I was happy with that part of the trip.
I rode this over two separate weekends, Once from the Wassaic train station to Millerton, and once from Millerton to almost the end of the trail. Picking a favorite section is a really hard call, they both have their pluses. One of the things I really liked is the lack of level crossings making this more of a bikers trail than a walking trail with a lot of trail where you will only see bikes for a few miles. Pedestrians are great, with only bikes there is a lot less stress about passing. I think just about every level crossing has a portalet, even the ones without parking.
Wassaic didn't offer much in the way of attractions or close by food, Millerton on the other hand had plenty to offer and explore, there is even an actual bathroom on the trail in Millerton. While it would probably be fine to bike the town, I used the rack and walked it. Lots of interesting shops and food options in Millerton so it is worth stopping. Once you head north of Millerton you are back in open land with the occasional road crossings. There is a section where you ride over a large pond on a bridge that is nice.
Walked this trail on 10/22/2022 and while it is a nice bike able trail, there are a few problems. I noticed that a few of the bridges are a couple of inches higher than the trail surface, and I'm not saying a little bump, I'm saying stop and walk it or fall off your bike bumps. Other than that this was a really nice trail and I would bike it with caution, or a mountain bike. Fall colors were amazing while I was there.
Bring a hat for windy days . Beautiful walk . Access to McCook park is up the hill if you want a longer walk.
The Harlem Valley Trail from Taconic State Park to Wassaic (Metro North Station) spans 24 miles through beautiful farmland and marshy areas with Mountain ranges on both sides (Berkshire and Catskills). The entire trail is paved with asphalt. Unfortunately, there are older segments that sorely need maintenance, especially the roughly 4 mile stretch from Taconic State Park south. The trail is also narrow in spots making it uncomfortably close for bikes traveling in opposing directions. The trail does pass through several towns where you can find places to eat and shop.
We biked from Simsbury to Farmington on the Canal trail. It was nice with the fall color, but there is not much else to see. On the way back we took the River trail. It goes parallel to the river and it is very pretty. It goes thru Canton, which is a charming little town. From there the bike trail is quite good for a while, but then you have to bike on the road. The bike trail sign is painted on the road, but you have to look for it. Traffic was not bad at all. The last part goes thru a simsbury park, there are a lot of roots, gotta be careful. All in all the river trail is very nice, even with a couple of miles of in road biking. there there
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