Explore the best rated trails in Oxford, CT, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Walkway Over The Hudson and Marcus J. Molinaro Northside Line . With more than 71 trails covering 548 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.
Use gps route its not well marked like others have said but part of the fun was planning the route and then finding your way as you go.
did trail 7 years ago. What a change!! Smooth all the way from Copake Falls to Wassaic!!!! Did 50 mile round trip then took a dip in the spring fed lake at Taconic Hills State park. Can walk to the lake from the trail head at copake falls. Also a nice state park with interesting sights. We stayed in Great Barrington , 10 miles from Copake Falls. Make sure you check out the Barrington Brewery. Great beer, great food.
The path is nicely paved and a lot of it goes thru wooded areas. There are a few hills that can challenge the casual rider.
Beginning perhaps 2 miles north of the Simsbury Airport and continuing north for at least a few miles the trail will be closed for construction (looks like repaving + ?). I was on this trail yesterday and the "Will Be Closed" signs are abundant.
I rode 20.5 miles of the southern section of the Air Line Trail from East Hampton to Willimantic on a very hot day in June. This section of the Air Line Trail offers gorgeous scenery, peaceful seclusion and a tightly packed gravel surface that is in very good condition throughout. Despite the heat the trail is very shaded which provided much needed relief from the sun. There are a fair amount of road crossings, most are very small, quiet roads and all of the busier roads have warning lights that can be activated to let motorists know you are crossing.
The only two small complaints I have is there is a lack of signage along the trail. There is one very short on road section that I almost missed getting back on the trail due to there being no signage, I just rightly assumed the small unmarked path on the road was the way to get back on the trail. The gates at the road crossings are on the narrow side which can make navigating through the road crossings difficult. I feel these two issues do not at all detract from what this section of the Air Line Trail has to offer.
I just rode the trail from Cheshire to New Haven Harbor. It gets confusing because of the lack of signage once you go under the Temple St Garage in New Haven. You get dumped out into a street and don't know where to go. The trail is on the road or sidewalk depending on what you prefer. Take a left onto Grove St. continue to the end and take a right onto Olive ST. Follow Olive St. to the end and pick up the trail again on Water St. Cross Brewery ST and take a right to continue on Brewery. Brewery changes to Sargent Drive. Take a left to go under I95 and the water will be in front of you. If you take a right and continue down for a little, along the water's edge, you will find dozens of food trucks to buy lunch before a return trip. It was well worth the trip.
I recently rode this on a cool day in May from Manchester to Willimantic and back, so right at 40 miles. The trail is well-maintained and foot/bike traffic was light, even though it was a holiday weekend. Very scenic for long stretches and low elevation gain. I rode a gravel bike with 45 mm tires. On a road bike with reasonable tires, this should be do-able (I saw a couple of them), but there is one rough section of about 100ft (30m) where you would need to walk. There is also one underpass that is dark enough to use a headlight...but it's passable if you slow down. There are a number of places to read about the history of the rail line, as well as a few locations with fix-it stations with bike tools and air pumps.
One final tip: Google maps takes you to an intersection on Colonial Road for the Manchester trailhead...the parking lot has a tiny sign that is easy to miss.
This morning May 25, 25 we saw a doe and larger buck between east of Old Town Road.
Entered @ Elmsford and found a parking lot where we unloaded . Well maintained nice scenery along the way as well as a few eateries and gas stations where you can get a drink or snack .
I rode the entirety of the Southwick Rail Trail coming from the Farmington Canal in CT. The Farmington is in very good condition, the Southwick is in even better condition! There are mile markers every mile, the scenery is very peaceful and the trail is very flat making it an easy ride. I stopped as soon as I hit the Columbia Greenway but it is also a seamless transition to that trail as well.
I didn't notice any places to pull off for food but its a short trail so I don't consider that a negative. The trails that join this one really give you so many options for ride length or to visit the trail towns along the way.
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