Looking for the best trails around Shrewsbury?

Explore the best rated trails in Shrewsbury, MA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Common Pathway and Spicket River Greenway. With more than 113 trails covering 684 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.

Recent Trail Reviews

Reformatory Branch Trail

this could be a great bike trail, but….

March, 2023 by fuller5rgr8

….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.

Neponset River Greenway

perfect park

March, 2023 by emilyvl91

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!

Mass Central Rail Trail

Weston part not the best for rollerblading

February, 2023 by 7q2vdb7mbx

The pavement is decent, but there’s no marked center line. Biggest complaint is that the trail primarily goes downhill as you go east, and primarily uphill as you go west, so you’re going to hate one direction or the other. Decent views. Poor road-to-trail transitions with broken up pavement and sand which is a nightmare for in-line skates. Much prefer the Cochituate rail trail

Accordion

Cochituate Rail Trail

Good for a quick in-line skate if you’re somewhat experienced

February, 2023 by 7q2vdb7mbx

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.

Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

what a great trail!

February, 2023 by fuller5rgr8

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.

Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail

I do my run here a few times a month, It is so beautiful I really like it. It is so green and right next to the CT River the air is so clean. It's good for a long run where you can get up to 10 miles and it's a well maintained trail.

February, 2023 by yikertam

I do my run here a few times a month, It is so beautiful I really like it. It is so green and right next to the CT River the air is so clean. It's good for a long run where you can get up to 10 miles and it's a well maintained trail.

Twin Cities Rail Trail

walking.

February, 2023 by caddydvr

Love this rail trail !! Nice easy path , street crossings are easy to get thru. Great job by both cities.

Independence Greenway

Needs Two Critical, but Expensive Links

January, 2023 by robert.atkinson4

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.

Ware River Rail-Trail

Great if you like exploring, like I do.

January, 2023 by alan113

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!)

Grand Trunk Trail

Map Update Grand Trunk Trail - Sturbridge, MA section

January, 2023 by bouvier90

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.

Connecticut Riverwalk and Bikeway

Sometimes getting there is fun as well

December, 2022 by bblhed_tl

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.

Canalside Rail Trail

Bonus! Bonus!

November, 2022 by egauger

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.

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Accordion

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