I've been biking the Trumbull section of this trail for a little over a month now, and set out yesterday to find the Monroe section. I first found it by following the directions here, and rode along Route 25 (Main Street) for a bit, then turned off onto Purdy Hill Road and found Wolfe Park. But on the way back, I found the "Bike Trail" signs which led me ride to the Trumbull section.

The trail starts out pretty typical, crushed stone and ballast, wide and level. There's a couple of picnic tables at the start. There's even a couple of park benches along the trail, if you need to rest. The trail seemed to end and dump into a residential area, but by continuing on the road for maybe a quarter of a mile, you can pick up the trail again. This section is a little more rugged and narrow. At one point, it was barely wider than me, but was lined with only little branches, so I had no problem getting through.

I made some nice discoveries on the later part of the trail. Like an abandoned rail line, with the rails and some of the ties still visible, running alongside the trail. A little further down, the trail actually crosses two tracks side by side. People have tried to make it a little easier to cross them by placing little wood ramps, but they're a little worn. But I was able to cross them without trouble. I like a little challenge, so this was one of my favorite parts of the ride. I'll post a picture of the crossing.

At the end of the trail, I found what appears to be a working freight rail line, with a private crossing to an industrial site. I'm also a railfan, so this was a nice find. The now abandoned sidings are also visible.

As I said, I was able to find my way back following the trail signs, and able to avoid busy Route 25. On Maple St., I found the old (1850) Stepney Depot, though the tracks are long gone there. Again, another great find.

Between the two sections, Trumbull and Monroe, I logged almost 25 miles round trip. A really enjoyable ride.

We rode the trail between Wolf Park in Monroe and the north end of the unimproved trail in Newtown.

The Monroe portion is wide and well groomed. There is a 0.6 mile detour on Grant Rd. and Pepper St. to get around private property.

Just north of Great Hollow Lake the trail goes through a cut that created a noticeable breeze. On some old maps this cut is named Windy Gap.

The Newtown portion of the trail is much narrower and although unimproved it was flat and clear of debris. Much of this portion runs alongside abandoned rails and the Botsford wye. I imagine this trail could get a little tricky once the foliage season arrives.

I proved that the Newtown section can be navigated by a fat old guy on a hybrid. I only got off the bike once to cross the pair of tracks at the south end of the wye.

"I've written a few times about how the trail starts near Route 25, off Botsford Hill Road and how there's an unofficial trailhead near Wickes Lumber off Swamp Road. Years ago, a friend asked Newtown First Selectman Herb Rosenthal about cleaning the property up to make it a trailhead. (It's a concrete lot with 2 old trailers and lots of debris). You could probably fit 5 cars there. He said it was too expensive and would need federal dollars to clean up contamination of the old company that was there.

An article in the News-Times (Danbury) on February 5, 2007 featured that property in relation to smart development near railroad corridors. It looks like it will see some cleanup and become a parking lot. I emailed Rosenthal to congratulate him and to suggest that a historical kiosk be placed as well. (It mentions the trail is not open in Newtown, that is not true.

Here is the relevant text:
as well as plans for the former Charles Batchelder Co. in Newtown. Batchelder is an abandoned aluminum smelting plant on 31 areas near the town's Monroe border. It closed after a 1983 explosion destroyed part of the building. It is estimated that cleanup of the entire site would cost roughly $1.5 million, not including removal of the abandoned building. It is owned by the Connecticut
Institute for Communities Inc., a nonprofit agency working with Newtown to
return it to use. The property was stuck in bankruptcy court for nearly 20 years. The town is owed about $1.5 million in back taxes it will likely never see. The court is about to release the property for sale to pay creditors, including the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Development Authority, and Standard
Oil of Connecticut, among many others...The Batchelder property is also the end of a
rails-to-trails walking path that runs from Newtown into Monroe and Trumbull. The path isn't open in Newtown, because it is surrounded by the Batchelder property. Rosenthal wants to create a public parking lot nearby when the property is cleaned up, so the trail can be used. When the property clears federal Bankruptcy Court, which could happen this month, the federal Housing and Urban Development agency will give the town
$134,000 to begin remediation."