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Great ride but especially by IBM and where there is an active rusty river flowing there needs to be work done.
My husband and I checked out this trail for the first time on 7/29/2018. It was a Sunday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. and the weather was gorgeous, bright and sunny. The trail has some really beautiful sections and some very secluded sections running through urban neighborhoods. At some points, it was so secluded that it felt like it could be opportunistic for crime. There was literally nobody around, it was kind of eerie. My husband commented that he would not feel comfortable with me riding this trail alone.
The Trail Section approaching the MCC Road called "Great Path" has some extremely large cracks, 4-5 inches. If you're unaware as you approach they are very dangerous.....The Trail from Tolland Turnpike to Burnside Avenue aka Rt 44 is barely ridable because of all the many cracks and bumps. They have gotten worse in the last year....Lastly the trail between Burnside Avenue and Silver Lane, specifically , the first 360 degree curve under the highway has an extremely severe washout. Orange cones have been placed along the edge of the washout, but it is so extreme that someone coming around the blind corner, riding wide in the curve could be severely hurt should they loose control trying to avoid.
These sections of trail needs some serious work, but have not seen any work in years.
An excellent trail, takes you through mostly wooded areas, so you won't be riding in a blazing sun much. (Take mosquito spray). We started at Baldwin Place, next to New York Sports Club and took north (the trail actually runs both ways, north AND south, from NYSC - but the southern part is probably called differently; whatever the case, the trail map shows NYSC as the south entry point for Putnam Trailway).
If you start of heading north, your ride will be easy and pleasant - you'll spend most of time on a gentle downgrade, almost not touching your pedals. (Which means, of course, it's a harder work getting BACK - so, if you are doing a loop, maybe it's better to start off on the northern end of the trail and then have an easy ride back). The road is asphalt mainly, not in ideal conditions in many places, but nothing overly concerning - I saw people on racing bikes with thin rims. We had our folding and touring bikes, absolutely no issues.
If you are a family with kids, an ideal solution would be to start at the south entry point (NYSC), have an easy glide down, then split and have one of the parents ride back while the remaining party is waiting at one of the parking lots (there are benches in some places, and shops/cafes in others, so it's doable) and then come and pick them up by car.
Dateline: Sunday, July 15, 2018.
Weather: Upper 80's to 90F, very humid.
Starting from north headed south it is a pretty good trail with some very nice scenery, until you reach Millwood. Then it goes from woodland trail to NOISY bike route next to highways. No rail trail surface is perfect and we are very lucky to have off-road paved trails, so I am not going to criticize a few sections of root bumps. It is a worthwhile trail to experience.
I had already done the Putnam County rail trail 2 years ago, which leads right into this one seemlessly. So this time I parked at the northern end in Baldwin Place and went north a bit to find where I turned around last time. I did not intend to do the whole trail for a roundtrip of 44.2 miles, but since I had an energy drink just before starting I kept going. When I got the the SCRT sign, I stopped and looked at my Strava app, which stated I had already done 25+ miles, because I forgot I did about 3 miles on the PCRT before starting on the actual NCRT. So now I figure it will be my first 50-miler! When I got back to my parking area I was SO tired and ready to drop when I realized it would only be about 48+ miles and I needed to go at least another mile north to make 2 more miles for 50. I did it - slowly, but it was not wise to do on such a warm day. I should have waited until autumn and 20 degree cooler temperatures.
Went to the south access point in Warehouse Point and found no parking lot, no sign, and no trail! Drove through the building construction only to find a fence blocking the trail. So I went to the north end in Enfield and that too was blocked with a locked fence. No sign or other way to know it was closed. Hope someone will keep the status updated in the future!
They've just finished paving the trail and it's super. It's the same initial 5K of paved bike path as before, but now it continues down to River Rd and then to Grumman Blvd. You can turn north on Line Rd. to cross the site and complete the loop. 8.75 miles. The paved trail along Grumman Blvd. continues for a ways to the west beyond Line Rd., but then just stops. Perhaps they are planning to make a loop around the whole site? Or maybe they just had extra asphalt.
Well worth the 1 1/2 hour ride to get to!! We started at the Plainville parking area and decided to take this path to Simsbury and then return the Farmington Canal Path. The River path is beautiful and deserves the 5 stars. It runs along a beautiful river and brought us to the quaint little town of Collinsville. The only issue we had was the path came to an abrupt end at the route 202 & 44 intersection. There were no signs to indicate the street riding. Guessing , we proceeded on the street until we saw the cycling insignia. The only other poor signage is when you come out of the state forest and there is no indication until approx 100 yards that tells you that you're going in the right direction. We were glad we had the Rails to Trails Southern New England Guide Book we could keep referring to!
The trail started off great, but starlight park entry is closed and the detour is pretty far out of the way. We rode from manhattan to Bronx on bikes so we decided not to finish the trail
August 2017
It was a great ride, next to a river, shady, smooth, and there is a parallel Farmington Canal trail that meets this one at the southern end. The north end is near a conjesting roadway and was supposed to continue on a non-paved section, but I could not find it. Go check it out.
Loved it!
Well kept, well marked bike path. Moderately traveled. All dogs I saw were on leashes. Cyclists, walkers, and runners were all very respectful of each other when passing.
I started in Bethpage State Park and went north towards Syosset. The terrain was mostly flat with a hill about 1 mile from the start (mile markers are on the pavement). It started out as mostly tree-lined and covered, but trees thinned out farther out. The path does cross major roadways, but these crossings are well marked.
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