Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Northampton, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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.
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
Short for bike, nice views, benches and even a real train.
June 6th 2025
The Mrs and I rode this beautiful trail from North Hampton to just short of Belchertown, and back.
The weather was great and the trail is mostly shaded, so the ride was superb.
I'd have no objection to doing it again.
Settle grade difference between start to finish. All paved smooth.No bugs.Crowded with walkers, skaters, and bikers.Windy in the afternoon.
We started at the south end and rode ten miles before turning around. We would have gone further except it was getting late. The trail over all is in good condition. There hasn’t been a lot of rainfall recently so the trail was dry. We ride ebikes with four inch off road tires. On the day we rode the condition of the trail was good enough for most riders but we don’t recommend road bikes.
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