Find the top rated birding trails in Old Saybrook, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I rode this trail on 7/12/19 from Moosup, CT east into Sterling, CT. The first 5 1/2 miles are unimproved rail trail, good for MT bikes or aggressive hybrid riders. At the route 14A crossing I found some improvements underway, 1.5 miles of bull dozer work to a bridge under construction just past Carbuncle Pond WMA. The surface was soft and broken and very hard to ride. This leads me to believe that Road Island has a project underway to extend the Trestle Trail from Log Bridge Road (the current end) westerly to just west of the CT line at Route 14A. I will explore the area in the late fall to see how work has progressed. There is a second bridge in the Village of Green, RI that needs work, but I did not get that far.
I give 1 star as a bike trail rating; 4 as a walk. We did this as a walk and that was good. Biking - I would not recommend. Their is sooo much foot traffic a bike Would be a nuisance. On busy days parking can be filled and there is a fee to go to the beach 2018 at least. Walk it the sights are great. We chose to walk back on the side walk adjacent the road so we could see the shops n restaurants
very nice 5 mile trail. great for walking. surface is rather bumpy even on my hybrid. can't beat the views. lots of wildlife.
Long Wharf to Yale is partially on-road, busy and tricky. Agreements with landowners have been completed and future construction will eliminate some of the on-road. 2018 trail completions in Cheshire and Southington make the trail continuous for 23 miles.
The remaining section in Southington is scheduled for construction in 2020. The Plainville section is currently in design. Construction could start in 2021. It might be phased, so construction might be complete in 2024 or later. When the Southington section is complete it will be relatively safe to ride on-road across Plainville.
From Northwest Dr on the Plainville/Farmington border the trail goes continuously to Main St Westfield about 34 miles. A few railroad bridges in Westfield have to be rebuilt to complete the trail to the Westfield River
North of the Westfield River the railroad is active. The best on-road routes include hilly and traffic. In Southampton the trail will be on the abandoned railroad right of way, but the right of way has not yet been purchased.
Getting to the trail in Easthampton requires about 10 miles of on-road. The last 7 miles of the trail to Northampton are complete
My wife and I live this ride. It’s easy to do on our 7-speed cruiser and there is much to do on the trip. Pack a lunch and picnic in Fagan Park, enjoy the paved shaded path from the Kingston Train Station and don’t forget to stop at Brickley’s for some homemade ice cream! There are also well kept public restrooms right before RT 1A in Wakefield. Great ride in great shape.
We love all of Main St, South Windsor, and it's perfect for a bike ride. I recommend starting at the top of Main St rather than by Chapel Rd as suggested here. It's a sample of old New England with lots of well-maintained vintage homes (including the birthplace of Jonathan Edwards), tobacco barns, fields, & farms. The road itself is a very moderate incline, similar to rails-to-trails. The bike trail alongside I291 is also very easy biking. We only had time to go about halfway on that portion before we needed to head back. An absolutely perfect ride!
We rode this trail on 6/16/19 North from the Tait Road parking lot to its end in Newtown and back, approximately 20 miles total. Almost constantly shaded by trees, very removed from highway traffic, felt like I was in the deep woods at many points. Initial section runs along a ridge and you can look down and see the rivers. Some parts are cinder, some paved, some dirt; there were one or two short sections of gravel; you need a hybrid or a mountain bike (no skinny road bike tires). But overall a very nice ride and worth your time! The section near Tait Road had a number of walkers and families with kids; as we got further north it was much less crowded. As noted, there are several points where you have to cross a road or ride on-road for a short section to get to the next part of the trail, so if you're riding with kids please be aware of this. But we found those sections fairly easy to navigate, even though the signage isn't as good as it could be. There are a few small uphills but they're very short ... just about all flat. Nice to have something like this close to our home in Fairfield County!
This is the 1st trail I rode since started biking 7 years ago. It is still one of my favorites. Close to the north end there is a small town with nice restaurants and a surprisingly good small museum displaying local history. It is well worth a visit.
We parked our car in the lot on Garfield Avenue, and rode 19 miles from the Cranston end to Summit, where we ate lunch at the General Store before heading back to Cranston. Compared to my home bike path, the heavily traveled Minuteman Bikeway, the Washington Secondary Path was mellllllowww, on a GORGEOUS June Sunday. I kept expecting crowds. None, just the occasional friendly rider, who usually waved and said hello.
As noted, the Coventry half is in better shape than the bumpier Cranston side. There are several ice cream places, ballfields, parks, and water views. I found porta potties between the tennis courts and ballfields near the Horgan School in West Warwick and one in a small park towards Coventry. No restroom at the trailhead so plan ahead.
Rode from the Coventry Trailhead to Cranston on a warm, sunny day. Overall the trail is pretty nice with shading from nearby trees. There are some sections that need paving repair due to bumps forming in the pavement (probably nearby tree roots). Most of the roadway intersections were fine, but may be challenging on a busy day. One intersection is notably "bad" due to its layout (Providence St (Rt-33) & Toll Gate Rd (Rt-115)). This may be a good place to get off your bike and walk this intersection (see the google street view).
We didn't have time to try out the western end of this trail, but may come back in the future for it.
My wife and I rode our tandem from the Brickyard Rd Trailhead northward to the Phelps Rd Trailhead (just short of the MA line). The route is pretty well marked and the pavement is good. Most of the trail/roadway crossings have pedestrian/cyclist buttons to trigger the traffic warning signals and the cars do stop when they see you standing at the crosswalk.
Regarding places to eat: We only saw a sign for one business along the trail. I recommend doing a google search ahead of time to see what's nearby and plan accordingly.
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