Find the top rated running trails in Groton, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 has such beautiful views.. Water ,woods & residential..We parked around Mercer st...There is a bunch of parking..Next time I would go to the parking lot a little further down the road. There is a slight hill there,u go down. Coming back u go up. We were tired rode 27 miles & that was the last leg...we managed to get up the hill...lol.. Really the trail is pretty flat .. It is a narrow trail & can get very busy,so u have to pay attention. But most people were great...There r plenty of places to get off & grab something to eat,drink.. Bathrooms didn't see.. Bristol was a nice town..
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.
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.
Or ice cream, from one of the vendors you can visit along the way.
Dateline: Monday June 25, 2018.
Beautiful sunny day, temps in the upper 80's
I came for 3 days of biking in Rhode Island just for this trail and it did not let me down. Do it. It's worth a long drive (3.5 hours for me) and repeat visits. I used a municipal parking lot in Bristol for the round trip, which was about a quarter mile down the same street as the endpoint of the trail. Every other parking area was too busy.
Caution. After visiting many bike trails thanks to TrailLink, my only complaint is that some of the parking areas need to be reviewed more carefully. In this case the first parking area in East Providence did not encourage me to leave my car there for 3 hours. Always take the address/directions/GPS to more than one parking lot and visit the TrailLink site just before departing for any updates. I drove 2.5 hours to Windsor Locks, CT to find out the entire trail was closed temporarly, and my only parking lot address closed for the entire year. But I will go back, because the trails themselves have not let me down.
Dateline: Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
Beautiful sunny day, about 85 F.
I started from the Traillink suggested parking lot in the East Providence. The first 3 to 4 miles were in suburban street bike lanes until I got to Lonsdale. Then the trail became wonderful and completely off-road. So choose your parking area carefully. This trail is definitely worth a long drive (3.5 hours for me) and a repeat visit. As much as I love the ocean views of the East Bay Bike Path, I liked this trail better. Nice job Rhode Island.
Caution. After visiting many bike trails thanks to TrailLink, my only complaint is that some of the parking areas need to be reviewed more carefully. Always take the address/directions/GPS to more than one parking lot and visit the TLink site just before departing for any updates. I drove 2.5 hours to Windsor Locks, CT to find out the entire trail was closed temporarly, and my only parking lot address closed for the entire year. But I will go back, because the trails themselves have not let me down.
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!
We skated the trail from the North on July 4. Lots of people in Bristol for the local parade, and the restaurants at that end were a bit busy. No problem though, because the trail has finally been repaved! The surface is fantastic!
True, the wood bridges are still rough and waiting to be rebuilt, but the rest is perfect. Thanks to the powers that made it happen!
June 2018. Trail Link has 2 trails detailed for the Blackstone river when there are at least 3 or more. The first one is from 287 Oak Street Uxbridge which is separately detailed on this site - it's a dirt track and you need at least a hybrid or off road bike to ride it. This is not connected with the one below, and to do so is a 2-3 mile road ride through central Uxbridge, heading south on route 122 then south on rte 146A.
With this review I cover the two sections starting at south Uxbridge, Massachusetts and riding to Providence RI. The first section in Massachusetts is not detailed on the Trail Link site.
The Massachusetts part of this trail starts near rte 146A on the far southern outskirts of Uxbridge, MA where it meets rte 146. The trail heads south towards Woonsocket, RI between here and St Paul Street in Blackstone village is very new, paved and in great condition, a pretty ride and downhill as you head south. It stops abruptly near St Paul Street, and if you've gone past the parking lot, you've already gone too far. It's about 4 miles long.
At this point you need to take Canal Street and River Street into Woonsocket, RI through the industrial areas where most of the route is marked, until the markings disappear near Front Street, Woonsocket where you need to follow Hamlet Avenue, bear right on Manville Road and left on Willow Street to the river edge parking lot.
This is where the Rhode Island part of the Blackstone Bikeway truly begins. From here its about 16 miles to the park at India Street, Providence, RI. The first 8 miles as you head south to Providence are alongside the river, with the track in mostly good condition and some great views as you trace the river towards the sea.
At about mile 8 the bikeway turns away from the river and through the backstreets of Central Falls, then Pawtucket all on the regular road. While the signposting is generally good, the state of the roads isn't and it's not a nice ride. This continues for a few miles until you get to Blackstone Boulevard in Providence. It's another nice section, however you are in a bike lane sharing the road with cars. Turn off here (marked - follow the signposts) and for the last mile or two and you head to the river again rejoining the bike path for the last half mile or so.
All of the sections can be ridden with a road bike, there are some sections in the last 8 miles that you certainly need to take more care. Would I ride this again? Woonsocket to Central Falls, yes, perhaps. Central Falls to Providence RI? No.
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