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The trail leads down to the ocean and it’s just a gorgeous view! Not a lot of parking, but never overcrowded.
Contact with the Hop River design team has developed some news on the last remaining undeveloped area on the Hop River Trail. The section on the Windham side of the Willimantic River is under construction. A late summer opening is anticipated. This work will allow traffic over the Willimantic River from the current end at Mackey's Ag. store. A parking area is also part of the work.
The Trail from the Columbia town line to Kings Road (the current end of the developed trial) will be under design late this year. Bids, construction and all that stuff pushes the completion into 2021.
So late this summer, with a MT bike, you will be able to cross the river from Windham and follow the unimproved rail bed to Flanders Road, turn right to Kings Road and get back on the improved trail, That's less than a mile of off trail and local road.
The trail is pretty much a straight shot with no hills. I have ridden my bike on this trail many times and there is always a good mix of joggers, bikers, and walkers, but it is never too crowded -- I do ride my bike at a nice leisurely pace but, even so, I rarely have to stop or slow down. The trail itself is paved and in very good condition. On one side of the trail there is even a strip of finely crushed stone that you can bike on when you want to take a break from the smooth asphalt. Set down in a residential area, you are never far from civilization, but there are woods on either side of you and the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing.
A lovely walk through the foliage. Paved in some parts and crushed rock in others. Not too busy. Quiet, but still close to civilization.
As I am not from RI, and was not familiar with the roads in that area, I initially had a hard time finding this trail. When locating trails I use a Garmin Navigation System for directions. The listed address of "Railroad Ave" at the Amtrak trailhead didn't seem to come up in my Garmin's database. If using a GPS navigation system, search on "Kingston Station", or "Amtrak Kingston" instead.
We started in Providence at India Point Park. It was a beautiful blue bird day in the high 70's with little to no wind. A perfect day for a bike ride. However, after riding the entire length of the trail from Providence to Bristol and back, we feel this is another Hall of Fame Trail that is so over hyped it is almost criminal. First, there are no facilities anywhere on the trail. Be prepared to buy lunch somewhere if you need to go to the bathroom. The trail surface is paved and in excellent condition with lane markers dividing the trail. It is probably the best trail surface we've ever ridden on. It is very flat, but it is also very narrow. You will have to watch out for walkers and runners, ALL of whom ignore the trail signs and walk against the flow of bike traffic. Be prepared to do a lot of weaving in and out of traffic. When it comes to scenery, the bridge that you cross when leaving India Point Park from the Providence trail head is beautiful. Then there is one small section of trail about a half a mile long where the trees form a very pretty tunnel you ride through. As you get into Bristol, you get some views of the bay, (which are for the most part obscured by chain link fencing). However, for the most of the trails length, there is nothing to see except the small trees and scrub brush that lines both sides of the trail. There really isn't anything to see. For as much as this trail is hyped as a Hall of Fame Trail, we expected much more, and to be honest, were thoroughly disappointed, and left wishing we had just ridden one of our local trails instead.
I found this trail to be very easy and smooth. No bumps along the way. It’s got a few disconnects but nothing major. Hilly at times which gives you a work out. It would be awesome if it went all the way to the ocean! We parked at the train station which was crowded on a Sunday late morning.
In April 2018 the Windham Town Council approved $1,300,000 for rehabilitation on the Willimantic River bridge behind Mackeys. This would include 800 feet of trail. It was put out for bids due on July 26th. I haven't seen any work yet. There is still the bridge over the Hop River which looks to be in terrible shape and may never be repaired.
I just road the Airline Trail across the Willimantic River and then toward the newer ending at Mackie's Ag. Store near the Columbia town line. It was in fine shape. However, what I was looking for is evidence that the work on the Willimantic River bridge was started. I found nothing underway. I road to the easterly end of the Hop River Trail hoping that it was starting at that end. No such luck. Does anyone out there have any information on when this section will be started?
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