Explore the best rated trails in Charlton, MA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Fresh Pond Bikeway and Upper Charles Trail. With more than 84 trails covering 630 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.
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The Stratton Brook State Park Trail presents a great way to work up an appetite for a picnic at Stratton Brook State Park, the first state park in Connecticut to be entirely wheelchair accessible. The...
The Quinebaug Valley Rail Trail runs on the corridor once occupied by the Southbridge & Blackstone line of the Providence & Worcester Railroad, transforming a corridor once designed to link rural...
The South Bay Harbor Trail connects several Boston neighborhoods—Lower Roxbury, the South End, Chinatown, and Fort Point Channel—to the Boston Harbor. The trail spans nearly 4 miles from Ruggles...
The Washington Secondary Bike Path offers just over 19 miles of paved trail from Cranston (Providence’s southwestern neighbor) to Coventry. The rail-trail, Rhode Island’s longest, follows the former...
The pleasantly tree-lined Warren Bike Path, built along the former Warren-Fall River Railroad, runs just under a mile from Long Road west to the Kickemuit River. The trail ends in an 18-acre park...
The Charles River Bike Path, also referred to as the Charles River Greenway, offers a paved, 22-mile route from Boston to its western suburbs. The trail is also part of a larger, developing network...
Bloomfield Greenway Multi-Use Trail is 1.8 miles between Bloomfield and Simsbury. The trail is envisioned to someday act as a connector between the City of Hartford and the Farmington Canal Heritage...
First a canal, then a railroad, and now a trail define the history of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. Completed segments span Connecticut south to north, from New Haven to the Massachusetts...
The Mystic River Greenway is part of the Mystic Greenways trail system, which also includes the Wellington Greenway and the Malden River Greenway. When completed, the trail will connect the...
The Neponset River Greenway is a south Boston jewel, utilizing the best in design and construction standards as it winds through the Neponset River valley, offering a low-stress, high-quality...
The Redstone Rail Trail is built on the former New York, New Haven & Hartford Armory Branch, which in turn is a former branch line of the New York & New England RR. Its name comes from the numerous...
The South Spencer Rail Trail runs for less than 2 miles from downtown Spencer to an area south of town near Spencer State Forest. The path, which is also known as the Depot Trail, occupies a former...
Imagine a wealthy 19th-century textile mill owner building an 8-mile railroad to get coal to his plant or products to market, and then adding accommodations to carry vacationers to beach resorts or...
The Bay Colony Rail Trail will one day span 7 miles connecting the Boston suburbs of Newton, Needham, Dover, and Medfield along tracks once used by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. In May...
The Chicopee Center Canal Walk offers a short pleasant route in Chicopee, a small city on the outskirts of Springfield in southern Massachusetts. The pathway closely follows the slow-moving canal and...
The Wellington Greenway is a section of the Malden River Greenway in Medford, Massachusetts. Eventually, the Wellington Greenway will be connected to the other sections of the Malden River Greenway in...
Mine Falls Park in Nashua is a 300-acre-plus urban park with a network of approximately 9.7 miles of a variety of trail types. This forested park offers an extraordinary nature experience in the heart...
The Charter Oak Greenway offers more than 16 miles of paved pathway through Hartford and its eastern suburbs. At first glance, the trail looks as if it is simply a highway side path, but the journey...
Mile 0.0 - DPW Garage Cross the bridge in the parking area, the trail starts behind the fence, crossing over Great Brook on a old dam. Mile 0.53 - After crossing Union St. you will come to a...
The Malden River Greenway is part of the Mystic Greenways trail system, which also includes the Wellington Greenway and the Mystic River Greenway. When completed, it will run along the Malden River...
First a canal, then a railroad, and now a trail define the history of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. Completed segments span Connecticut south to north, from New Haven to the Massachusetts...
The Fred Lippitt Woonasquatucket River Greenway provides a valuable crosstown connector of nearly 7 miles from downtown Providence to the city’s western neighborhoods and the nearby town of Johnston....
Many commuters choose the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway for freedom from congested traffic in the northwest Boston suburbs. For others, the 10.1-mile paved trail between Cambridge and Bedford serves as a...
The North Central Pathway is envisioned as a trail network connecting points of interest through and between Winchendon and Gardner. Several completed sections of trail make for a lovely ride or walk...
This unpaved state-owned trail is open for public use from Coldbrook to Baldwinville. An on-road detour is necessary through the village of Baldwinville, but the right-of-way is open for public use on...
Mile 0.0 - DPW Garage Cross the bridge in the parking area, the trail starts behind the fence, crossing over Great Brook on a old dam. Mile 0.53 - After crossing Union St. you will come to a...
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Formerly comprising two separate segments—one running northward from Keene to Walpole, and the other running southward from Keene to Fitzwilliam—the Cheshire Rail Trail now runs a continuous 32.9...
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The Trolley Trail runs through Plainfield and is a key link the East Coast Greenway. Plans are to use this trail as a link between the Moosup Valley State Park Trail and the Airline State Park...
Riverpoint Park sits nestled into a bend of the Pawtuxet River in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The park accommodates the 400-ft arboretum which leads to 1.3-mile riverside path known as the Senator...
The pleasantly tree-lined Warren Bike Path, built along the former Warren-Fall River Railroad, runs just under a mile from Long Road west to the Kickemuit River. The trail ends in an 18-acre park...
It’s hard to pick a favorite season to experience the Hop River State Park Trail, set amid the dense forests of Eastern Connecticut. Sections of the 20-mile rail-trail dive through steep rock cuts...
The Cheney Rail Trail follows part of the corridor of the South Manchester Railroad, built by the Cheney brothers in 1869. The line was a 2.5-mile spur from the main Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill...
A dozen miles west of Connecticut’s capital of Hartford, the Farmington River Trail forms a 16.5-mile arc that connects to the larger Farmington Canal Heritage Trail on both ends. The rail-trail was...
With spectacular maritime views and an abundance of coastal wildlife, the East Bay Bike Path offers a spectacular New England experience. Inducted into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2009, the route...
Throughout history, the Blackstone River has been an important waterway, from its use by American Indians who fished its once-abundant salmon to its role as a major artery for the transportation of...
The South Spencer Rail Trail runs for less than 2 miles from downtown Spencer to an area south of town near Spencer State Forest. The path, which is also known as the Depot Trail, occupies a former...
Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway may not be very long, but it's jam-packed with attractions. Along the paved pathway, you can access five parks, be wowed by public art, stop to smell the flowers in...
The well-maintained Canalside Rail Trail provides users with a variety of trestle bridges, views of waterbirds stalking fish and frogs, and gentle grades that alternate between open sky and forested...
The Hartford Riverwalk is a charming network of paved pathways for cyclists and pedestrians that runs along the banks of the Connecticut River through the state capital. The trail provides an off-road...
The Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail is a great example of a repurposed rail route that provides safe commuting opportunities while also allowing trail users to escape into forest environments for...
This 5.8-mile trail is part of the planned East Coast Greenway, an off-road path that will eventually run from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida. The Moosup Valley State Park Trail will connect with...
It’s hard to pick a favorite season to experience the Hop River State Park Trail, set amid the dense forests of Eastern Connecticut. Sections of the 20-mile rail-trail dive through steep rock cuts...
The Quarries Foot Path offers a wooded 1-mile hiking route in western Quincy, about 10 miles south of Boston. Begin your adventure on the south side of Ricciuti Drive, which borders Quincy Quarries...
The Stratton Brook State Park Trail presents a great way to work up an appetite for a picnic at Stratton Brook State Park, the first state park in Connecticut to be entirely wheelchair accessible. The...
The Columbia Greenway Rail Trail offers just over 2 miles of paved, tree-lined pathway through Westfield in southwestern Massachusetts. The trail runs from Main Street, across the Great River Bridge...
This unpaved state-owned trail is open for public use from Coldbrook to Baldwinville. An on-road detour is necessary through the village of Baldwinville, but the right-of-way is open for public use on...
The Bay Colony Rail Trail will one day span 7 miles connecting the Boston suburbs of Newton, Needham, Dover, and Medfield along tracks once used by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. In May...
Riverpoint Park sits nestled into a bend of the Pawtuxet River in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The park accommodates the 400-ft arboretum which leads to 1.3-mile riverside path known as the Senator...
The overall goal of the Grand Trunk Trail in south-central Massachusetts is to connect the communities of Brimfield, Sturbridge, and Southbridge by trail. Currently, two sections of the trail are...
The Westville Lake Community Trail offers a short, scenic excursion along the east bank of Westville Lake in Southbridge. Much of the crushed-stone pathway is under a lush tree canopy. Along the way,...
The Trolley Trail runs through Plainfield and is a key link the East Coast Greenway. Plans are to use this trail as a link between the Moosup Valley State Park Trail and the Airline State Park...
Burrillville Bike Path runs for just over a mile through its namesake rural community in northwest Rhode Island. It connects the villages of Pascoag and Harrisville through a corridor that once...
Mile 0.0 - DPW Garage Cross the bridge in the parking area, the trail starts behind the fence, crossing over Great Brook on a old dam. Mile 0.53 - After crossing Union St. you will come to a...
Bruce N. Freeman was a Massachusetts state representative from 1969 to 1986. Beginning in 1985, he championed the creation of a bike path that would run along the former Penn Central railroad line...
The North Bank Bridge, which opened in 2012, provides a safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle connection between Cambridge's North Point Park and Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. Spanning 690...
The Windsor River Trail is a paved trail along the Connecticut River in Windsor Meadows State Park. The trail begins at the state park’s parking lot on E Barber St. The Captain John Bissell Trail,...
A dozen miles west of Connecticut’s capital of Hartford, the Farmington River Trail forms a 16.5-mile arc that connects to the larger Farmington Canal Heritage Trail on both ends. The rail-trail was...
The World War II Veterans Memorial Trail opened in Mansfield in 2004 after several decades of advocacy by local rail-trail supporters. The trail rests on an abandoned corridor once served by the Old...
Imagine a wealthy 19th-century textile mill owner building an 8-mile railroad to get coal to his plant or products to market, and then adding accommodations to carry vacationers to beach resorts or...
The Tri-Community Greenway follows the route of the Boston and Lowell Railroad and its Stoneham Branch, originally built to serve Stoneham’s shoe factories and provide passenger service. The trail...
Really like this trail. It’s well maintained, views are great. Love ending the ride with a picnic lunch at Colt State Park overlooking the ocean.
Clean, gravel trail right near downtown Hopkinton. Perfect for bikes, kids and strollers. Longer trail, but many small dirt paths along the route for more nature style walking. My 20 month old loves exploring here. The only con is the parking.. there is none unless you enter by loop road (behind Hopkins school by the fields).
Section of the trail at Bull Hill Road is closed as well as the parking lot at this location. No information regarding why this section is closed or for how long. Would be nice if a brief sign could be posted to let users know if work is being done and how long the closure is projected to be. A lot of disappointed people driving and biking here; only to be turned around.
This is a shaded trail that parallels Highland Ave. You can begin/park at NTB/National Lumber and follow it south towards Oak Street. Along the way, occasionally there are art installations. At Oak Street, there is an adjacent bocci court and picnic tables. You can continue there for a very short bit on the trail towards the tv tower/Charles, but my recommendation would be to make a left onto Oak Street and head towards Highland Ave. Once there, if you make a right, you’ll see two DCR marble posts starting an unnamed trail that will take you along the Charles to Second Ave. if you follow Second Ave a couple of blocks, it will take you right towards Cutler Park. You can bike the length of the Futker Park loop around the lake, which often has swans. It’s a pretty extension to the Greenway Path and for almost the entire ride, you are in a path A pretty ride, I recommend it
This trail may closed for a period of time which may change due to raptor nesting. You don't find out till you get there. You can also take the new path over the river to connect to Route 190 East to the shopping area, there are no signs telling you which way to go once you cross the Ct River
This trail is good for walking and kid’s bike only. Not for cycling.
Absolutely loved this trail ¿¿ Readily accessible from the Ayer MBTA Station. I cycled on a sunny quarantine Saturday, and I never felt unsafe or peeved by the occasional foot traffic. Shoot, one of the residences along the trail was even giving away free masks. The trail wide enough and well maintained. Overall, it was an easy, comfortable, and scenic ride from end to end. Highly recommend linking your trip to the trails of Mine Falls Park or the Nashua Heritage Rail Trail into the city.
Work on extending the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail is beginning at Main Street in Westfield. It is now 2.4 miles long and any extension will be greatly appreciated. The downtown extension insures that the new section will be heavily used. The rest of the trail is in excellent condition.
I used this trail to roller skate, it was pretty short but a nice straightforward skating path
Beautiful day. Yes I got off a few times to kick the poop into the woods since I don’t have a horsey bag. But there were plenty of places either rock stump or bench to mount up from. Met lots of people enjoying the day hiking or fishing. Glad i found and can’t wait to be back again
the parking lot appears to divide the trail in half, but the section directly connected to the parking lot is not a good bike trail. Most of it is covered in decomposing rail ties and it makes for an advanced but short ride before the trail ends abruptly. The way to go is on the other side of the street from the parking lot. Its a nice flat trail most of the way. The trail has a range of materials: grassy, sand, packed dirt and large crushed stone. I would recommend for a child who has a little experience on trails, not a true beginner.
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