Find the top rated atv trails in Northbridge, whether you're looking for an easy short atv trail or a long atv trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a atv trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Weather upper 80's F, humid. Slightly cloudy.
This is a very nice trail for riding or walking. The surface is good, the scenery spectacular, no food or drink stands. There is only one "hill" as the path goes up a bridge over the railroad tracks. Not bad. There are 2 road crossings near bridges and the crosswalk signal is not long, favoring non-drivers. I even rode back and forth on the 2 auto bridges to extend my ride a bit further with more river scenery and they are nice too. Definitely worth a visit to the CT Riverwalk. Springfield seems like a nice city and they have this nice amenity. It also host the basketball hall of fame museum for sports fans.
You can combine this trail with the Windsor Locks canal trail on the west side of the river, which is about 5 miles long. It's about a 15-20 minute drive between each trail. I enjoyed both on the same day.
Warning : don't trust the parking lot addresses on Traillink. If you are driving further than half an hour always bring several addresses to try.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Weather upper 80's F, humid. Slightly cloudy.
I drove 2.5 hours last year to arrive here at a trail closed due to insurance problems. Grrrr....
This year it was great. A nice parking lot at either end, the trail between is a nice mix of sun & shade, seclusion and water views. Yes, the asphalt trail can be a bit bumpy, but it is still better than unpaved. I have to admit, the best time to view this trail would be in the autumn when the leaves are at peak color, or after they have fallen for the best views everywhere. But it is worth a visit. You can combine this trail with the Connecticut River Walk in Springfield, MA, which is a bit shorter, but rightr along the river and very nice. It's about a 15-20 minute drive between each trail. I had a wonderful day doing both trails.
Warning: some of the trail photos are not from the Windsor Locks trail that I rode 5 days ago. I do not recognize them.
Warning 2: don't trust the parking lot addresses on Traillink. If you are driving further than half and hour always bring several addresses to try.
Started my ride at the parking lot, which by the way had many spaces, near the Old Gardner Rd and MA 140/Gardner Rd intersection and planned to ride south to where I thought the trail would end per the Rail-Trails Southern New England guidebook in Gardner near the Crystal Lake Cemetery. From the parking lot south to MA 140 the trail was asphalt and a nice mixture of gentle shaded grades and flat open areas. Crossing over MA 140 the trail became packed dirt and was mostly wooded. However when I got to the parking area at Park/Eaton St the trail just ended. I could not see any continuation of the trail on the other side that would have taken me closer to downtown Gardner near Crystal Lake Cemetery.
Disagree strongly with August review from “hungrypiper” - this is a perfectly fine trail, which conveniently takes you away from busy streets on your way from Salem outskirts to nearly the center of Marblehead, and then on towards Swampscott. Very green trail, reasonably well maintained, but little to no signage at trailheads and the fork. Trail is narrow in spots with not enough room for all bikers/hikers/joggers. On a Saturday morning, we experienced most traffic in the section closest to Marblehead.
We trained from Boston to Salem on the special $10/weekend all-you-can ride commuter line ticket, then walked from Salem to Marblehead, lunched in Marblehead, then continued along rail trail to the end in Swampscott then meandered on sidewalks along the coast all the way to Lynn (no formal trail from Swampscott to Lynn). Was about 13 miles one way. A fun day out!
Here’s hoping North Shore communities invest more in signage and connecting all these trails to public transport and parking.
One of the worst, if not THE worst, Rail Trail in the Boston area. Trail is not properly graded, edges are overgrown, there are low hanging branches you cannot miss as you’re riding and there are large rocks and stones on the trail itself.
On my ride today, there were large puddles that spanned the width of the trail which indicate the trail needs to be properly graded to prevent puddling.
The view itself is Boring (with a capital B). Just vines, small trees and weeds with no interesting views. I hit any number of large rocks on my ride and found the posts at crossings too closely spaced together.
All in all, a very disappointing ride.
Very shady in most sections. Very well marked and the areas that involve streets are very few and very easy to navigate. Do not let this stop you from enjoying this great path. Hopefully they keep adding on!
The Pratt pond rail trail to the first gate going north has had a meticulous cut back, some finishing touch’s will make this great effort complete by fall. One volunteer, twenty months, approximately 200 hours of labor has accomplished a 7 year cut back from Pratt pond to the first northern gate was an enormous undertaking in which all cutting was hand done. FYI, the cut was 4ft out from ether sides of trail with a 12 to 14 foot cut into the canopy. Posted by his friend enormously.
My wife and I rode this train on 7/27/19. We started at the route 2 park and ride, rode south to a point about 2 miles East of East Hampton, then doubled back all the way to the Willimantic Bridge, finally returning to the car. About 30-35 miles total. Very nice trail, well-maintained, tree lined, rural. Few crossroads, cool, not heavily used the day we were there. Please be aware that while there are no big hills, there are a few long steady climbs along the way, especially East of the park-and-ride; think small elevation with a steady,slow climb All told a great trail, would be awesome during Fall color each season. Please also note that you can connect to the Hop River trail just over the Willimantic Bridge.
This lower section of the Air Line is very enjoyable I know the trail goes North through Willimantic, would be curious of people’s impressions of that section.
This trail is pretty and super well-maintained. Thanks, RI. You got this so right and lots of folks are out enjoying it!
The trail is very scenic but it is narrow and bumpy. Probably better for walking than riding.
On July 1st I walked over the new Willimantic River Bridge from the current end at Mackie's Ag. store into Columbia. The new decking is in place and railings are underway. Looks like a late summer or early fall completion is possible.
Once they open the bridge it will be possible to ride from the rail road museum to Flanders Road without getting on to Rte. 66. The .5 miles to Flanders Road will remain unimproved but is do-able with wider tires.
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