Find the top rated walking trails in Ellington, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I just rode the trail from Cheshire to New Haven Harbor. It gets confusing because of the lack of signage once you go under the Temple St Garage in New Haven. You get dumped out into a street and don't know where to go. The trail is on the road or sidewalk depending on what you prefer. Take a left onto Grove St. continue to the end and take a right onto Olive ST. Follow Olive St. to the end and pick up the trail again on Water St. Cross Brewery ST and take a right to continue on Brewery. Brewery changes to Sargent Drive. Take a left to go under I95 and the water will be in front of you. If you take a right and continue down for a little, along the water's edge, you will find dozens of food trucks to buy lunch before a return trip. It was well worth the trip.
As of 6/3/25 this trail is still closed south of 11th street.
There is a detour indicated, which we tried to follow, but quickly lost track of.
Found another way to access the trail further south, only to realize that we'd gotten onto the part of the trail that was officially closed.
I'm sure this will warrant a higher rating once it has re-opened, but we were more than a bit disappointed today.
...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.
I rode the Moosup Valley Rail Trail a few days ago from Moosup to Oneco. The trail is in excellent condition all the way, and beautiful! I rode 34mm knobbies, but would have had no trouble on 28 slicks. The only irritants were a guy on a motorized scooter in Moosup and 2 guys on screaming dirt bikes going the other way a bit farther along, but they passed quickly. In Sterling, dirt bikers had dug shallow ruts into a short stretch of path, diagonal to direction of travel, which made it bumpy but not hazardous. Otherwise lovely! I wish Rhode Island would step up to the plate and finish the connector to its Washington Secondary path.
I rode the entirety of the Southwick Rail Trail coming from the Farmington Canal in CT. The Farmington is in very good condition, the Southwick is in even better condition! There are mile markers every mile, the scenery is very peaceful and the trail is very flat making it an easy ride. I stopped as soon as I hit the Columbia Greenway but it is also a seamless transition to that trail as well.
I didn't notice any places to pull off for food but its a short trail so I don't consider that a negative. The trails that join this one really give you so many options for ride length or to visit the trail towns along the way.
I rode the entire northern section of the Farmington Canal Trail from Plainville into MA on a windy Easter Sunday. The trail itself is fully paved, in very good overall condition (there are a few bumps and cracks but nothing major). Simsbury offers a great stopping off point to get refreshments just a quick turn off from the trail. The scenery changes from light industrial parks, residential, marshes, a little farmland and some nice wooded areas.
I have one complaint that prevents this from being a five star trail. The signage could be better. There are times in the more urban areas that I lost the trail, a quick look at Google Maps got me back on and I never was too lost. There are a few signs that were helpful so just a few more would make this a five star trail.
Rode the two sections of this beautiful trail today. From the parking spot in the middle of the Ware trail towards Gilbertville is a nice ride along the river. But a short one. Opposite the old factory the trail suddenly ends and there are handwritten signs "Stop, Don´t go further, Private property..." It would only take a few yards to reach the next road to travel on towards Gilbertville. No chance. Shame on you, property owners! (The trailmap shows a way through, but that might be an error?)
Okay, same way back and on to Route 32 past Gilbertville, where the next trailhead is waiting;-)
Smooth surface, well maintained and even good for kids bikes and flat all the way to Wheelwright. 3 nice old bridges. This is one is fully recommended! Absolutely worth it.
This trail is a mixed bag. I mean literally you can expect to see everything from nice paved road, to chunky, rocky eroded sand, and everything in between. A fair amount of light gravel and packed clay and dirt for fast gravel riding. some sandy parts where you’d benefit from a wider tire. some chunky rocks and eroded sections. If you’re doing the whole thing, gravel or hybrid bike at the least. Wider tires and suspension are recommended. I did this on a gravel bike with relatively narrow all terrain tires and it was great most of the time but definitely not optimal for the roughest sections. overall this ia great trail to learn gravel riding and test your bike’s capabilities.
as of october 2024 this path is paved and quite nice.
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