Find the top rated bike trails in Boston, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Bay Colony Rail Trail will one day span 7 miles connecting the Boston suburbs of Newton, Needham, Dover, and Medfield along tracks once used by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. In May...
The Bridge Street Bike Trail begins near Curtis Park and travels south through downtown Salem, closely following the Bridge Street Bypass. The short trail runs through residential, retail and...
The Amesbury Riverwalk (also known as the Powwow Riverwalk) carries visitors between a resurgent waterfront district on the Powwow River to a modern shopping center on the outskirts of this historical...
The Piscataquog Trail, though only about 2 miles long, provides a vital off-road link between the communities on the western side of the Merrimack River (the West Side of Manchester) to several parks...
Many commuters choose the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway for freedom from congested traffic in the northwest Boston suburbs. For others, the 10.1-mile paved trail between Cambridge and Bedford serves as a...
The North Central Pathway is envisioned as a trail network connecting points of interest through and between Winchendon and Gardner. Several completed sections of trail make for a lovely ride or walk...
The pleasantly tree-lined Warren Bike Path, built along the former Warren-Fall River Railroad, runs just under a mile from Long Road west to the Kickemuit River. The trail ends in an 18-acre park...
Lowell's Canal System Trails are part of Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts. The park preserves some of America's industrial past: its 19th-century textile mills formed the first...
Methuen Rail Trail connects three communities in northeastern Massachusetts as it follows the route of the former Manchester and Lawrence Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The rail-trail's...
The North Bank Bridge, which opened in 2012, provides a safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle connection between Cambridge's North Point Park and Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. Spanning 690...
The Old Eastern Marsh Trail (a.k.a the Salisbury Rail Trail) runs for 1.4 miles between the north bank of the Merrimack River and Mudnock Road in Salisbury. The beautifully landscaped trail was built...
The 5.3-mile Independence Greenway makes for a pleasant ride, providing access to lakes, parks, and nature preserves. The paved pathway is located in the town of Peabody (pronounced by locals as...
Although short, the scenic Gloria Braunhardt Bike Path travels through forests and pastures full of birds and wildlife. The asphalt pathway parallels the eastern side of the present-day Interstate 95...
The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) is a developing, multi-use trail that will run from the Village of Saxonville in Framingham to Natick Center, a distance of 4 miles. Currently, its northernmost mile in...
The health and fortunes of Lowell have been intimately tied to the Concord River for hundreds of years. This tributary of the more well-known Merrimack River continues to be at the heart of the local...
Bruce N. Freeman was a Massachusetts state representative from 1969 to 1986. Beginning in 1985, he championed the creation of a bike path that would run along the former Penn Central railroad line...
Ten Mile River Greenway, named for the waterway it parallels and not its length, runs 3 miles through a serene and green corridor connecting the City of East Providence and Pawtucket. The southern end...
The South Manchester Rail Trail is a proposed bike/pedestrian path that would connect the downtown Millyard area of Manchester to the Town on Londonderry. The South Manchester Rail Trail will utilize...
The Border to Boston Trail connects the communities of West Peabody, Peabody, Danvers, Topsfield, and Boxford in northeastern Massachusetts. The long-term goal for the trail is to continue it north to...
Though the idea for a Cape Cod Canal goes back to the settlers of Plymouth Colony, the waterway didn’t begin construction until 1909. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over operation and...
Bruce N. Freeman was a Massachusetts state representative from 1969 to 1986. Beginning in 1985, he championed the creation of a bike path that would run along the former Penn Central railroad line...
The Clipper City Rail Trail is part of the Coastal Trails Coalition, which is developing in the four towns of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury along the Merrimack River and will...
The Peanut Trial is a distinct trail in the town of Newton that spans one-mile. This rail-trail was meant to connect to the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. However, due to a controversial lawsuit by land...
Many commuters choose the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway for freedom from congested traffic in the northwest Boston suburbs. For others, the 10.1-mile paved trail between Cambridge and Bedford serves as a...
In the southeastern outskirts of Boston, the Hanover Branch Rail Trail connects the communities of Abington and Rockland. (Locally, the trail’s east and west halves are sometimes referred to as the...
The Old Eastern Marsh Trail (a.k.a the Salisbury Rail Trail) runs for 1.4 miles between the north bank of the Merrimack River and Mudnock Road in Salisbury. The beautifully landscaped trail was built...
The World War II Veterans Memorial Trail opened in Mansfield in 2004 after several decades of advocacy by local rail-trail supporters. The trail rests on an abandoned corridor once served by the Old...
The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) is a developing, multi-use trail that will run from the Village of Saxonville in Framingham to Natick Center, a distance of 4 miles. Currently, its northernmost mile in...
The Windham Rail Trail passes through the woodsy periphery of Windham in southern New Hampshire, but it sits in the heart of the future cross-state Granite State Rail Trail. Its connections to the...
The health and fortunes of Lowell have been intimately tied to the Concord River for hundreds of years. This tributary of the more well-known Merrimack River continues to be at the heart of the local...
The Bay Colony Rail Trail will one day span 7 miles connecting the Boston suburbs of Newton, Needham, Dover, and Medfield along tracks once used by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. In May...
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Although only a grassy, hard-packed dirt pathway, the route along the Salem-Beverly Canal (also known as the Grand Wenham Canal), is scenic and peaceful. The old canal, built in 1917, lies between two...
The Border to Boston Trail connects the communities of West Peabody, Peabody, Danvers, Topsfield, and Boxford in northeastern Massachusetts. The long-term goal for the trail is to continue it north to...
Burrillville Bike Path runs for just over a mile through its namesake rural community in northwest Rhode Island. It connects the villages of Pascoag and Harrisville through a corridor that once...
The Neponset River Greenway is a south Boston jewel, utilizing the best in design and construction standards as it winds through the Neponset River valley, offering a low-stress, high-quality...
The Stillwater Scenic Walkway is a short trail that follows an old railroad bed between Capron Road and State Route 104 (Farnum Pike) south of Smithfield. The trail passes through a wooded area along...
The South Bay Harbor Trail connects several Boston neighborhoods—Lower Roxbury, the South End, Chinatown, and Fort Point Channel—to the Boston Harbor. The trail spans nearly 4 miles from Ruggles...
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 3.3-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
The Bridge Street Bike Trail begins near Curtis Park and travels south through downtown Salem, closely following the Bridge Street Bypass. The short trail runs through residential, retail and...
Lowell's Canal System Trails are part of Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts. The park preserves some of America's industrial past: its 19th-century textile mills formed the first...
Bruce N. Freeman was a Massachusetts state representative from 1969 to 1986. Beginning in 1985, he championed the creation of a bike path that would run along the former Penn Central railroad line...
The World War II Veterans Memorial Trail opened in Mansfield in 2004 after several decades of advocacy by local rail-trail supporters. The trail rests on an abandoned corridor once served by the Old...
The Fresh Pond Bikeway runs through Fresh Pond Reservation, a park in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bikeway winds around the east edge of the Fresh Pond Reservoir. Part of the trail is on a road...
The Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) is a developing, multi-use trail that will run from the Village of Saxonville in Framingham to Natick Center, a distance of 4 miles. Currently, its northernmost mile in...
The Fred Lippitt Woonasquatucket River Greenway provides a valuable crosstown connector of nearly 7 miles from downtown Providence to the city’s western neighborhoods and the nearby town of Johnston....
The Assabet River Rail Trail connects five old mill towns that owe their revitalization to present-day high-tech industries. A midpoint gap splits the 8.6-mile paved trail, though long-range plans...
Though the idea for a Cape Cod Canal goes back to the settlers of Plymouth Colony, the waterway didn’t begin construction until 1909. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over operation and...
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The Southwest Corridor Park (Pierre Lallement Bike Path) knits together neighborhoods in southern Boston from the Back Bay to Jamaica Plain. Popular as a route for commuters as well as casual walkers,...
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 3.3-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
The Salisbury Rail Trail Connector, also known as the Gillis Rail Trail Connector, is a 0.3-mile link between two rail-trails: Salisbury's Old Eastern Marsh Trail and Newburyport's Clipper City Rail...
The Northern Strand Community Trail is part of the visionary and almost-complete Bike to the Sea plan to link Boston and the Mystic River to the seashore in Lynn, north of Boston. It currently runs...
The South Spencer Rail Trail runs for less than 2 miles from downtown Spencer to an area south of town near Spencer State Forest. The path, which is also known as the Depot Trail, occupies a former...
The Stillwater Scenic Walkway is a short trail that follows an old railroad bed between Capron Road and State Route 104 (Farnum Pike) south of Smithfield. The trail passes through a wooded area along...
The Peanut Trial is a distinct trail in the town of Newton that spans one-mile. This rail-trail was meant to connect to the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. However, due to a controversial lawsuit by land...
Mile 0.0 - DPW Garage Cross the bridge in the parking area, the trail starts behind the fence, crossing over Great Brook on a old dam. Mile 0.53 - After crossing Union St. you will come to a...
The Clipper City Rail Trail is part of the Coastal Trails Coalition, which is developing in the four towns of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury along the Merrimack River and will...
The Bradford Rail Trail occupies a former Pan Am rail corridor, beautifying an area that once lay strewn with garbage and weeds. The city and numerous dedicated volunteers created the mile-long path...
The pleasantly tree-lined Warren Bike Path, built along the former Warren-Fall River Railroad, runs just under a mile from Long Road west to the Kickemuit River. The trail ends in an 18-acre park...
The Charles River Bike Path, also referred to as the Charles River Greenway, offers a paved, 22-mile route from Boston to its western suburbs. The trail is also part of a larger, developing network...
The Washington Secondary Bike Path offers just over 19 miles of paved trail from Cranston (Providence’s southwestern neighbor) to Coventry. The rail-trail, Rhode Island’s longest, follows the former...
Great trail did 27 miles. Part is paved and smooth - a traffic crossing at highway on/off ramps to watch out at - otherwise awesome section. 2nd half stone dust portion was awesome as well. Excellent condition and peaceful. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is I only saw one bathroom-ports potty in my 27 miles. Could have been more but I didn’t see them
The parking lot is completely closed. The signs tell you to park in Depot Square or Fitchburg, which is a joke. If you go down Groton Street you can pick the trail up right above the construction zone. As for parking, I parked on Park Street next to the Dunkin Donuts, pretty much just across the street. Given the construction and the parking situation, I think the town can do better than to tell people to potentially park in Fitchburg.
We parked our car in the lot on Garfield Avenue, and rode 19 miles from the Cranston end to Summit, where we ate lunch at the General Store before heading back to Cranston. Compared to my home bike path, the heavily traveled Minuteman Bikeway, the Washington Secondary Path was mellllllowww, on a GORGEOUS June Sunday. I kept expecting crowds. None, just the occasional friendly rider, who usually waved and said hello.
As noted, the Coventry half is in better shape than the bumpier Cranston side. There are several ice cream places, ballfields, parks, and water views. I found porta potties between the tennis courts and ballfields near the Horgan School in West Warwick and one in a small park towards Coventry. No restroom at the trailhead so plan ahead.
I grew up in Chelmsford and remember the Abandoned rails here. since conversion I been riding this trail to catch a movie in Lowell grab food in Acton go to my gym in town. fitness rides and pleasure rides. I explore the many parks it passed thru. I go fishing. this is perfect for a man who had to give up driving for impairment reasons. now I stay fit all the time and enjoy it.
Had some time on Memorial Day before the parade, so I decided to take my first ride of the season. This trail is LIT!!!!! Great surface, well marked and maintained. No debris in sight. Wildlife popping out of the woods left and right. Rode the whole trail in 2 hours. A great trail for aa morning ride!
My wife and I rode our tandem from the Hood Park trailhead in Derry all the way to Tuscan Kitchen in Salem. We couldn't find where the trail continues further south of this point.
The trail changes name as you travel from Derry towards Salem, but following the pavement keeps you on track. The few crossings of busy roads have pedestrian signals that work for bicyclists.
Rode from the Coventry Trailhead to Cranston on a warm, sunny day. Overall the trail is pretty nice with shading from nearby trees. There are some sections that need paving repair due to bumps forming in the pavement (probably nearby tree roots). Most of the roadway intersections were fine, but may be challenging on a busy day. One intersection is notably "bad" due to its layout (Providence St (Rt-33) & Toll Gate Rd (Rt-115)). This may be a good place to get off your bike and walk this intersection (see the google street view).
We didn't have time to try out the western end of this trail, but may come back in the future for it.
This is a very nice trail. It’s a very easy , flat, smooth surface. The parking lot is large enough to give you time and room to get your bike and gear together. The only thing I wasn’t thrilled with is having to cross busy roads and the space between the bollards could be a little wider.
But too busy in a warm spring weekend. Some stretches are narrow and poorly maintained.
The new section is complete! You can now ride from Acton to Lowell - the Acton end of trail is amazing! There is a bike shop right on the trail in Acton - they have a bathroom open to riders! Tons of parking options on this end of trail.
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