A nice 23 mile up and back from soundview. The most scenic part being from bronxville north to the dam. Definitely have a map handy though, as you will need to do street riding a few times. There are some hilly portions that will get you into gear changing which is nice. Bronxville has a great downtown with food options if you need to stop for a break. If this trail is ever connected it would be 5 stars for me. Solid ride and the dam at the conclusion is quite impressive.

My friend and I rode from Millwood on the North County Trail and just kept going. We ended up on the Putnam Trailway for a total of 46 miles. There are several decent hills on this segment of the trail. There are some street crossings but they are not very busy roads. You eventually come to the end of the trail, which is clearly marked. Near the end of the trail is a large reservoir. The trail is completely paved with just a few bumpy spots. We rode on 10/10 and the foliage has not changed much yet.

Level easy trail quiet and very pretty. Tricky entrance and exit onto busy road. Short easy trail. Wear boots muddy areas.

We started at Tait road entrance around 4:30 pm. Path was leafy but dry and good with great views.

I am an experienced cyclist who doesn't mind hills and other challenges. My wife is a casual rider who likes mostly flat, but not boringly flat, rides.

I drove almost an hour to scout out this trail for one of the leisurely rides we like to do together. After literally two minutes, I turned around and rode back to my car.

This trail is NOT suitable for occasional cyclists, beginners, older riders, or younger riders. In fact, I don't really know WHO it is good for, as for someone like me who can live with a few hills, it is way too short.

Perhaps if it, at least, led somewhere scenic or lined with coffee and pie shops, it might be worth the effort. However, it appears to start in the middle of nowhere and end in the middle of nowhere.

I gave it two stars instead of one on the chance that it might get better after the first thousand feet I covered. You'll have to find out for yourself. I'm not going back.

I rode the entire Hop River Trail beginning in Manchester and ending in Willimantic on a wonderful Fall day. The trail is tightly packed gravel and was in very good condition. The trail is mostly shaded and offers a nice views of woods, streams and rock formations throughout the trail. I didn't notice many opportunities to easily exit the trail for food or supplies so plan your trip accordingly.

My biggest complaint about the Hop River Trail is that every road crossing has very narrow gates on each side that only have one opening. It wasn't very busy when I rode but I can see that these gates would cause congestion on a busy day. Also they almost require you to carefully walk your bike through as riding in those narrow openings can be very difficult. I enjoyed the tunnels along the trail but I could see how the lack of lighting in one of the tunnels could be uncomfortable for some riders.

We rode from Sleepy Hollow High School to the Croton Dam and back on 9 26 20, total 22 miles round trip.

This is quite a varied trail experience. First, there are several on-road segments that connect the trail sections. The trail itself was mostly hard packed dirt, with some gravel...you need a trail bike or a mountain bike. Basically flat, but some of the road crossings had ups and downs and there were a few slightly hilly areas too.
It’s a complicated route, you definitely need a map or a Ride With GPS route or something similar….trail has signs but not always marked clearly. Old Croton Aqueduct.org has a lot of info.
The first section, from Sleepy Hollow High School to Scarborough was all off road. Once in Scarborough, we took a detour down River Road, to Creighton, to Scarborough Station Road to avoid a section right along Route 9. Crossing Route 9 at Scarborough Road, you ride on-road up a small hill to Long Hill Street, where you pick the trail up again. This section ends in the parking lot of an apartment building You’ll need to cross Route 9 and make your way diagonally through Nelson Park and Nelson Sitting Park to Spring Street in Ossining. After a couple of blocks we took a right on Maple Street and then on the left you’ll see the trail proceed between buildings…sort of like a walkway. This “walkway” continues through Ossining, over a nice high bridge and eventually ends up out by the Northside fire house, where you pick up the trail again. The next big cue will be crossing Route 9 again at Audubon Street, you ride on road up to Piping Rock, take a left, and pick up the trail shortly on the right, finally coming out on Ogden drive. Turn left, ride on road to Old Albany Post Road, turn right, pass under the highway, and then you have the choice of turning right on Shady Lane Farm Road and picking up the trail to go around the GE property (this was very rough, hilly, and difficult) or staying on road, riding uphill and turning right on Hillcrest Road. Both options take you out to Indian Brook Service Road, where you’ll again pick up the trail and follow it to the Croton Dam, passing over Quaker Ridge Street a number of times.
The area through Rockefeller Park and Scarborough is really nice, including that off road detour in Scarborough where you can see the river behind some nice houses. The section next to Rockefeller park is really beautiful, you can see the hiking trails of the park from the Aqueduct. And the section immediately before you reach the dam is nice too, pretty wide, nice tree-lined stretch. I have to say though that the section to get to that (around the GE offices) is rough. And you have to ride through downtown Ossining, not hard but not of course a real trail, and there’s one section where you have to walk your bike up and over some steps. So, all in all – sort of a mixed review, some really nice sections and views but be aware that there are some challenging sections and on road sections too. And please note that there’s a whole other section south of here that goes all the way to NYC.

Why am I the first one reviewing this lovely path? On Wed Sept 09, 2020 I rode here with beautiful weather 70F and dry. Both sides of the Connecticut river with the City of Hartford on the west are connected by several bridges, but the best is the Veteran's bridge. There are many sculptures everywhere.
Go. Enjoy the lovely scenery and the city.

Wednesday afternoon, September 16, 2020
Weather: 70' and hazy

I rode most of this trail and the river walk sculpture park in the City of Hartford. It was enjoyable, but my biggest complaint is the utter lack of signage at trail end points. If this is part of the East Coast Greenway, going from Maine to Florida, you currently need to bring directions or a map when leaving a proper trail and moving through roadways. I have Google Maps on my phone, so I could find my way, but....

The Hartford city section along the river was the best part for me. Then I had to put my bike back in the car and go to a park in Manchester to resume the ride. First I went west toward where I left off in Hartford, but turned around at the Manchester Community College and went all the way east to the end. It seems like a continual hill upward, but of course coming back was all downhill and much quicker. Right next to busy roads and highways, it is a noisy trail.

The surface is quite nice. There are no bad off-road paved trails, only good ones and better ones. This is a good one and I am glad I rode it once, but would not return.