Explore the best rated trails in Orange, 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 59 trails covering 467 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.
The Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
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...
While not a "rail-trail," the Hook Mountain/Nyack Beach Bikeway is a very scenic trail along the Hudson River in Rockland County. The southern half of this trail is flat and runs right along the...
The Pequonnock River Trail is not a name you will see on the ground along this developing trail in southwestern Connecticut. Formalized in 2001 by the state, the regional trail pieced together...
The 3.1-mile Kress Family Trail in Roxbury occupies the former route of the Shepaug Valley Railroad (the Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern Railroad). The railroad was famously known as the “crookedest...
When completed, the Norwalk River Valley Trail will run from Danbury to Long Island Sound in southwestern Connecticut, for a total of about 27 miles. Currently, several disconnected sections totaling...
You might expect a 4-mile rail-trail that passes through three downtowns to be excessively urban, but the quaint town centers on the Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail are compact and surrounded by...
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...
Owned by the Metro-North Railroad, the Maybrook Trailway starts at the Connecticut state line in Farringtons Park, and spans 5 miles into the town of Brewster. The trail follows what was once part of...
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 Kings Park Hike & Bike Trail runs for 1.5 miles between Old Dock Road at Church Street in Kings Park and Nissequogue River State Park. The trail is a town of Smithtown park and follows an...
When complete, Connecticut’s Shoreline Greenway Trail will be a scenic 25-mile route through four quaint New England towns off Long Island Sound. From Lighthouse Point to Hammonasset Beach State Park,...
The EPCAL Alternative Transportation Path loops around the 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton (hence its name: EPCAL) on New York’s Long Island and links to the Town of Riverhead’s 65-acre...
Bookended by beaches and offering gorgeous vistas of Niantic Bay, the Niantic Bay Boardwalk is a must-do excursion in the small Connecticut village of Niantic, part of the larger Town of East Lyme....
A part of Connecticut's first bus rapid transit line, the CTfastrak Trail serves as recreational and multi-use path for walking and bicycling between Downtown New Britain and Newington Junction. The...
The Bronx River travels from the mouth of the East River north to the Kensico Dam, providing views of the natural history of the area. Because the trail is under development, there are several gaps...
The South County Trailway rolls 14.4 miles through one of the most densely populated parts of New York, but its route through pocket woodlots, parks, and golf courses and along riverbanks makes it...
The Savin Rock Trail offers just over a mile of paved pathway along West Haven’s coastline. Along the way, you’ll enjoy picturesque views of Long Island Sound and access to its sandy beaches. The west...
The Bissell name looms large in this part of New England, and has been immortalized in multiple ways, including the Bissell Ferry, the Bissell Memorial Bridge and now, the Captain John Bissell trail,...
Where a trolley once ran, now you can too on the south bank of the Mattabessett River. The electrified trolley shuttled passengers from Berlin to Middletown and beyond. The smooth blacktop and an easy...
Fahnestock State Park is a relatively undiscovered gems in the New York State Park System. Located a few miles east of Cold Spring Village on Rt. 301 (Main Street), the park jurisdiction was recently...
Owned by the Metro-North Railroad, the Maybrook Trailway starts at the Connecticut state line in Farringtons Park, and spans 5 miles into the town of Brewster. The trail follows what was once part of...
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 Naugatuck River Greenway will one day span 44 miles from Torrington to Derby in western Connecticut, but is currently open in a few short disconnected segments totaling just over 5 miles. The...
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...
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 Kennedy Trail begins at the northwest corner of the 68-acre campus of John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers. The town, which sits 30 miles from White Plains and 55 miles from New York...
The Middlebury Greenway provides a paved, off-road option for a self-propelled journey across suburban Middlebury. The trail touches on several business districts and parks, ending at an amusement...
The first phase of the New Milford River Trail runs southeast from Gaylordsville via the scenic but lightly traveled River Road, through Sega Meadows to Boardman Bridge, a distance of about 5 miles....
The 3.1-mile Kress Family Trail in Roxbury occupies the former route of the Shepaug Valley Railroad (the Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern Railroad). The railroad was famously known as the “crookedest...
The EPCAL Alternative Transportation Path loops around the 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton (hence its name: EPCAL) on New York’s Long Island and links to the Town of Riverhead’s 65-acre...
You might expect a 4-mile rail-trail that passes through three downtowns to be excessively urban, but the quaint town centers on the Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail are compact and surrounded by...
The Ridgefield Rail-Trail meanders for nearly 2.5 miles through the forested exburbs of Ridgefield, Connecticut. The trail passes among suburban acreages, along a creek at one point, and past a couple...
Running alongside both the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers, the Derby Greenway demonstrates a seamless integration of Connecticut’s natural river systems and parks with man-made interventions of the...
Bookended by beaches and offering gorgeous vistas of Niantic Bay, the Niantic Bay Boardwalk is a must-do excursion in the small Connecticut village of Niantic, part of the larger Town of East Lyme....
The Raymond G. Esposito Memorial Trail travels from one end of the village of South Nyack to the other in 1 mile but greatly expands its reach by connecting with the Old Erie Path and a new shared-use...
The Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
The Qunnipiac Linear Trail is an easy multipurpose path in Wallingford, Connecticut. The trail skirts Community Lake while traveling a heavily wooded corridor along the Quinnipiac River. It is one of...
Tallman Mountain State Park Bike Path is partially paved and bisects the Tallman Mountain State Park. The route provides a motor-vehicle-free way for bicyclists using US Route 9W to connect with...
The Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail stretches just over 3 miles along Long Island’s north shore. Construction was completed in two phases with the first trail section opening in 2009...
The Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail stretches just over 3 miles along Long Island’s north shore. Construction was completed in two phases with the first trail section opening in 2009...
Where a trolley once ran, now you can too on the south bank of the Mattabessett River. The electrified trolley shuttled passengers from Berlin to Middletown and beyond. The smooth blacktop and an easy...
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,...
Open in several disconnected segments, the Billings Trail is a dirt path that traverses a lovely scenic and wooded landscape outside Norfolk in northern Connecticut. Built on the abandoned railbed of...
The EPCAL Alternative Transportation Path loops around the 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton (hence its name: EPCAL) on New York’s Long Island and links to the Town of Riverhead’s 65-acre...
Bookended by beaches and offering gorgeous vistas of Niantic Bay, the Niantic Bay Boardwalk is a must-do excursion in the small Connecticut village of Niantic, part of the larger Town of East Lyme....
The old New York Central rail line that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties carried commuters during the workweek, but on the weekends tourists...
The Briarcliff-Peekskill Trailway is a 12-mile linear park that runs from the town of Ossining north to Westchester County's Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill. The trail is built on land...
The Mosholu-Pelham Greenway connects several parks and recreational opportunities in New York City's north and central Bronx neighborhoods. A portion of the trail is also part of the growing East...
The Bissell name looms large in this part of New England, and has been immortalized in multiple ways, including the Bissell Ferry, the Bissell Memorial Bridge and now, the Captain John Bissell trail,...
The first phase of the New Milford River Trail runs southeast from Gaylordsville via the scenic but lightly traveled River Road, through Sega Meadows to Boardman Bridge, a distance of about 5 miles....
The Bronx River travels from the mouth of the East River north to the Kensico Dam, providing views of the natural history of the area. Because the trail is under development, there are several gaps...
When Jones Beach State Park opened on Long Island’s South Shore in the late 1920s, a series of scenic parkways was built on infill dredged from nearby towns to connect New Yorkers to the new public...
At first glance, there’s no evidence that an aqueduct ever existed along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. The trail is often a singletrack dirt pathway that winds through communities and trees and...
Note: Per the State of Connecticut's website, the trail is open from dawn to dusk April 1–November 14. Eagle nesting activities can delay the opening of the southern trail head in Windsor Locks. Due...
A part of Connecticut's first bus rapid transit line, the CTfastrak Trail serves as recreational and multi-use path for walking and bicycling between Downtown New Britain and Newington Junction. The...
The William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail—named for the county executive who championed it—is a local treasure in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The 13.1-mile trail runs through what seems...
Paralleling the Connecticut and Massachusetts borders, which lie only a few miles away, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail is a beautiful paved wooded pathway along the former New York & Harlem Railroad...
Fahnestock State Park is a relatively undiscovered gems in the New York State Park System. Located a few miles east of Cold Spring Village on Rt. 301 (Main Street), the park jurisdiction was recently...
The Qunnipiac Linear Trail is an easy multipurpose path in Wallingford, Connecticut. The trail skirts Community Lake while traveling a heavily wooded corridor along the Quinnipiac River. It is one of...
Nice family friendly trail close by. Great for children to ride their bikes and walk your pets.
Amazing trail. It’s a great full one or two day trek. I did a 30 mile loop in just over 4 hours, which wasn’t very pleasant to endure, but if you gave yourself ~6 hours you could ride the entire trail (just over 20 miles) in one day, assuming you didn’t have to ride back.
On Feb. 17, 2020, I walked from Smith Street, East Hampton west for 2.9 miles through the tunnel under Rt. 66 where the improved section ends. This section has a good surface of stone dust. There is only 0.25 mile gap between the final 0.7 mile section in East Hampton where that newer segment connects to the 2.3 mile long trail in Portland. There are plans to build a boardwalk through this section to make the connection, as the trail is a running stream with several inches of water.
The trail has a slight break at Main Street that is a bit confusing to navigate. When heading west, turn right on Main Street, cross Main Street at the light, and walk through the parking lot in front of the fire department building to pick up the trail.
At the eastern end of the trail, the bridge over the Willimantic River in Willimantic on the Hop River State Rail Trail received a new deck in 2019 and opened to the public in September 2019, thus making a direct connection to the Air Line Trail.
Ridden this from Kensico Dam south. Great trail. Tight winds and turns, so some slow moving. Beautiful area. Not too congested.
I love this trail. Well maintained. Very scenic. While hilly, I would say that the hills are not a problem for someone who cycles on a regular basis.
I have ridden this a few times. Very nice trail. Well maintained. Beautiful area.
This trail is a continuation of the Old Erie Path. You can start riding in Tappan on the Joseph B. Clarke Trail, which then leads to the Old Erie Path. It starts at the Piermont train station building. It is very scenic as you rise above views of the Hudson River and Tappan Zee (Mario Cuomo) Bridge. The surface is crushed stone and dirt. A hybrid or mountain bike is recommended.
This trail is a continuation of the Joseph B. Clarke Trail. It is very scenic as you rise above views of the Hudson River and the picturesque architecture of Piermont. The surface is crushed stone and dirt. A hybrid or mountain bike are recommended. The trail ends at the Piermont train station building.
We rode from the parking lot in Tappan on Oak Tree Rd. The RTC directions are very accurate. The parking lot is small big enough for about 6 cars. This trail within the first couple of miles branches off. You can't miss the fork. It's clearly marked so you know which way to go. The left branch remains paved and goes to the end in Blauvelt. The right branch takes you to Piermont and Nyack, leading you to the Old Erie Trail. This part of the trail is crushed stone. There are a few street crossings along the way. This trail isn't particularly scenic but would serve as a good commuting or training trail.
The trails in Vernon are among the most maintained of all trails in Central and Easter CT. There's plenty of parking along the trails which gives you easy access. The scenery is amazing including bridges, side paths, and tunnels.
My favorite trail for nice long walks. Beautiful views of the hudson.
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