Find the top rated hike trails in Chicopee, whether you're looking for an easy short hike trail or a long hike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Currently there is a couple of sections that are really nice for the work thats been completed, but will be a fantastic trail once they have completed the sections necessary to connect them into one long trail. All the sections completed are mostly all paved and are great for walking/jogging/biking & wheelchair/stroller friendly. The only exception is tgr Naugatuck River Greenway section that starts at the Sullivan Senior Center, which has a paved trail that runs parallel to the the river and ends at the side road which you continue down a one way street that almost zig zags until you reach palmer bridge. Crossing the bridge and crossing to the paved trail that goes behind a condominium and continues until the end of the dirt parking lots (trail is paved) of John Toro Sports Complex, where the pavement ends towards the actual field. Then it transitions to the field with no defined trail. The Trail at that point isnt really distinct. I lived here most of my life and I didnt know until I saw a news article about The Rainbow Bridge and found that the trail in fact extended past where the pavement ends and continues straight past the dog park past both the first baseball field, the soccer field, and then about halfway through the 2nd baseball field there is a wide opening in the forest, where you then see the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge Trail. Which is an amazing small half looped trail, with some of the most beautiful works of art, and tributes to various pets (photos, stepping stones/memorial rock garden, a memorial fence, k-9 officers memorial bulletin board(s), sculptures, poems, signs, chairs, then the rainbow Bridge which is adorned with photos, momentos, stories, collars & tributes to pets of those who came to place their beloved pets memorials. After you find the exits shortly after that you can see the wide open pathway continues for a while on but ends at a fenced off area that currently is a business/underutilized "Sports park" that will eventually be replaced with a connector trail that will connect with other nearby trails.
We started at the marina restaurant at the south end of the trail and rode 3.5 miles on the rail trail section, with another 2 miles on Rice Farm & Quarries roads. Beautiful vistas of the river, rock formations, changing leaves. Esp impressive was the overhead highway bridge built with long tapering multicolored stone supports, representing tree branches. Under the arched stone supports is a picnic table & patio area. A few protruding stones/tree roots need to be managed but biking is very possible on this trail and should be included in the list of options for use.
Rode a portion from Milldale north to Southington. All paved in fairly decent shape. A few bumps but no broken pavement. At the point in Southington the trail just ends with no information as to where to go. No signs or arrows. The trail picks up somewhere a few miles away but I couldn’t find out how to get there. On the portion I rode it was flat and easy, but not much to see other than woods and backs of buildings.
We rode to the end of the trail, then continued on Rice Farm Rd. to the dangerous intersection. we missed the entrance to the trail on the way back, so got a good workout on some hilly spots on the road.
On the packed sand patches, keep an eye out for roots that can be a bit dicey. In some spots along the gravel sections, the gravel can be a bit loose, so pay attention to the trail.
First time and loved it! I rode the entire route, starting at the south end parking lot. (42.758592, -72.471175) This trail has some unique features and the scenery is beautiful as you ride next to the river and through the woods. As a former rail, this trail has nice and gradual elevation changes and has fun bridges, which all seem to be maintained well.
At the time of my ride (end of Aug, '25) there were a couple of detours around mile 14 and 16 (heading north) but they have good (not great) detour signs listed to continue the route with a short road detour. As some folks mentioned, there are a few areas that look like they would be pretty wet during the wet season, but I had no issues with any area of the trail and never had to stop for downed trees in the way.
I rode my gravel setup (no suspension, 35mm tires) and had a blast! I'd highly recommend the trail and hope to be back for another spin soon.
Was visiting the area and am so happy I got my gravel bike out to do this trail. As others have mentioned, it is very, very well maintained and quite smooth, enabling fast riding (I rode the entire trail as listed). As a former rail, this trail has nice and gradual elevation changes and has cool features like the tunnels and bridges. I'd highly recommend and hope to be back for another spin soon.
Had a great evening bike ride out at the Windsor Locks Canal trail earlier this month (Aug, '25). The trail is paved, and as others have mentioned, it is not super smooth in some areas where the tree roots are pushing the asphalt up but can be navigated pretty easily. I was riding my gravel bike setup with 42mm tires and was able to go quite fast - averaging 15mph on the ride so it really was not that beat up / bad.
The scenery on the river is very nice, and the canal on the other side was also fun - lots of wildlife to see. Would recommend if in the area!
Rode the entire Farmington Canal Heritage Trail as part of a 2 day ride from Northampton to New Haven. What a fabulous experience! So much variety and New England splendor packed into one journey. It was very interesting to see how each of the towns maintained the trail differently. Everything from the paving to the signage changed as you moved from one village to the next. What an amazing treasure!
We found this trail to be well maintained. Not as smooth as some rail trails, but smooth enough on our full suspension fat tire bikes. Hard tails may not enjoy as much. Nice scenery along the Connecticut river.
We started at Walpole after searching for the trailhead parking lot finally parked our car thanks to the locals at the Irving station. We almost didn’t recognize the trail because it was grass. There were no markings and we found ourselves initially at the river at the boat launch because we didn’t realize that was the trail we were following. After backtracking, we followed the other grass trail toward Keene. Although there were portions that were dirt and gravel, the 9 mile ride that we managed to cover at 6 miles an hour with primarily grass. After an hour and a half, we realize we are only halfway to our destination of Keene and we turned back.. I recommendation would be not to start in Wall Paul, but to start and keen where the trail is paved
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