Explore the best rated trails in Gardner, MA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Warner Rail Trail and Bagley Rail Trail and Common Pathway. With more than 99 trails covering 643 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 muddy, uneven, full of potholes, and frankly, sometimes downright dangerous. It’s not exactly family-friendly. Maybe someday it will be connected to the neighboring Minuteman Bikeway? One can only hope.
This park is huge and has a ton of space for any outdoor activity! I go for hikes here all the time, bring my kids and my dogs here, and we all love it! It’s clean and safe and has the longest trails!
It’s relatively flat, very smooth, and a quick punchy trail to skate. There are a couple of bigger inclines (particularly a bridge that goes over Cochituate Rd) and a lot of road crossings, so I don’t recommend for first time skaters to do the whole trail. However, I learned to skate on sections of the trail and now do the whole thing in about 12 minutes, so if you take it slow you can use this trail for a long time.
Love riding on it. There’s some odd curves, like near the lumber yard, but the trail will be an even greater asset when the latest extensions are added. There are some amenities along the way, such as portable toilets, and there are coffee shops and convenience stores on the way, too.
Love this rail trail !! Nice easy path , street crossings are easy to get thru. Great job by both cities.
I grew up in this area, and while the trail offers great views and an easy ride, two (2) huge barriers make this trail incomplete. The trail needs to cross US Route 1 and MA Route 128 to really be complete. Crossing Route 1 would link this trail to the Border-to-Boston Trail and crossing Route 128 at the Northshore Mall would allow the trail to continue into Downtown Peabody at Peabody Square and link to trails in Salem and points North. Both crossings used to have train tracks crossing the highways, but in both cases, the tracks across the highway were removed long before the trails themselves were built (the rail line was finally decommissioned in the 1980's, after an elderly driver was killed trying to beat the train as it crossed Route 1). Building the crossings would require constructing bridges to carry the highways over the trails, and require redesigning the adjacent interchanges (Lowell Street and Route 1, also Route 128 and Lowell Street) with the highways, a considerable expense that would cost tens of millions of dollars. The upside is that both interchanges are in desperate need of an overhaul, with traffic backups onto the highways at rush hour and stop signs at the tops of the ramps that merge onto the highways. That might have been acceptable in the 1940's, when these roads were built, but is intolerable now, with today's high traffic volumes.
Rode (7/22) from Winchendon to Baldwinville, and then (skipping the part bisected by Rt. 2) from from Rt. 101 in Templeton to Route 122 in Smithville on the Barre/Oakham line. Lots of wet and rutty sections north of Balwinville but still fun (some walking with 1.5" tires). Some sandy section in the southern piece but still fun. It's slow going of course. Didn't pass a single extra person. Good roadside fried food at Lee's in Baldwinville (it's been there for at least 70 years!)
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.
Nice trail, what it lacks in length it makes up for in bonuses. 1. Brick and Feather Brewery along the path with outdoor seating. 2. Discovery Center Museum near trailhead in Turner’s Falls, free, cool animal displays and lots of interesting information in this little gem.
After riding the Ashuelot Rail Trail in the summer and seeing this from the parking lot on Rt 63, I came back on an unusually warm November weekend to give it a try. I fully concur - this could be a gem of a trail if a bit more work could put in, but still a nice enough ride. I was on my hybrid, and am beginning to wish for a Fat Tire or maybe at least a shock absorbing front fork for these jouncy pot-holey trails. Pity that the trestle is falling to ruin, and in the slight rain I was caught in, I didn't chance it with slippery sneakers. Frankly, it's a tragedy waiting to happen, and with as many rotted rails as there are, I was surprised to see 3 bikers walking gingerly across. Kudos to the snowmobile clubs who watch over this trail, as you could see where chainsaw work had been done to keep it open.
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