Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Bristol, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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I grew up in Fairhaven and moved away, but return every summer; the highlight of my trip being time spent on this bike trail and the Mattapoisett leg of it. Lots of “branches” if you want rack up some serious miles; Weeden Road, Gillette Rd, Mattapoisett Neck Road and continuing down Front (?) Street in Mattapoisett to Ned’s Point Lighthouse. Couple detours on the Fairhaven part and a stretch about a 10th mile that’s dirt and not conducive to a road bike. a 10th of a mile
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.
The Mattapoisett portion is open. It is a seamless continuation of the phoenix path and is very pretty, well maintained, and has a beautiful boardwalk near the end. It goes to a beach and you can then ride on a quiet road to Ned points lighthouse. Definitely worth the trip.
Great local path. It is all paved except for a short area near the Norton line. It has gravel for about 50 feet. Flat with lots of trees. Some finishing touches needed at the crossing but they have lights set up for safety. It’s about 13 round trip. Used by walkers, runners, bikers. Great place to teach kids how to ride a bike. Not too crowded.
We just got back from doing this trail yesterday.
We started at the north end at the Fort Hill Parking area.
There were plenty of spots to park when we arrived.
Being a very nice day, there were LOTS of people out enjoying the trail.
We only went as far as Police Cove Park where the trail was closed.
There was a detour route that continued but we decided that was enough for the day and headed back.
We did take the side trail out to the carousel, which we knew would be closed from checking on the web.
We were a little surprised that a trail so nice didn't have ANY restroom facilities. It wasn't easy to go into the woods between lots of poison ivy and people on the trail.
We'll go back and go from south to north and enjoy the rest of the trail
Just rode this trail today 5/27/25. My previous 5* review (2024) still stands with two additional comments. 1. There are virtually no port-a-potties on the trail. However, right near the southern end in Bristol there are some nice benches and just across Thames St is a very nice town facility. 2. The north end parking (India Point) is very busy and biking the first mile getting to the East Bay Path is involved with some unpleasant street portions. Use GPS to locate the parking at 66 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, East Providence. A much better option - in my opinion.
...we rode the western part... (is there a tool to edit a review?)
We rode the eastern part of the trail today, starting at the CT/MA border towards Douglas. The first 6-8 mls are well maintained and a good ride even with a street bike. Nice scenery, too. But then things get worse around Douglas. Rough surface with crushed stone, sand and deep puddles after a rainfall (like today). Looks like the track has not been maintained in a while and detoriates. A mountain bike is a big plus and highly recommended in some parts of the trail. Was a good ride though but do not expect a smooth one.
This is described as a 3.5 mile section but we only went about half way to the dam from the Stanley Mill. It is passable on bikes but has roots and larger stones along the stone path. It's really more a walking trail. The farm mentioned in the description was an interesting side visit and had very nice bath & water facilities. However, for a great biking experience the 10 mile section starting at Woonsocket is paved and a far more pleasant ride.
Just rode the trail south to the Sudbury line. The east west trail is finished to the west for another 8 miles. It connects to the Hudson Trail at the end.
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