Find the top rated bike trails in Reading, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Although short, the scenic Gloria Braunhardt Bike Path travels through forests and pastures full of birds and wildlife. The asphalt pathway parallels the eastern side of the present-day Interstate 95...
The nearly 4-mile multi-use Clipper City Rail Trail and Harbor Walk connects the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail station and the Merrimack River near downtown...
Built in the 1910s by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) as part of the Connecticut River Division Main Line, the route introduced daily service to the B&M Fort Hill Branch in the early 1920s to meet...
This exquisitely maintained trail slices through forested areas and wetlands for a wonderful experience in southern New Hampshire. The trail will eventually be part of the Granite State Rail Trail,...
Alewife Linear Park is a beautiful paved trail stretching 2 miles east from the Alewife T-station in Cambridge to Cedar Street in Somerville. The park came about after the Massachusetts Bay...
The Stillwater Scenic Walkway is a short trail that follows an old railroad bed between Capron Road and State Route 104 (Farnum Pike) south of Smithfield. The trail passes through a wooded area along...
The South Bay Harbor Trail connects several Boston neighborhoods—Lower Roxbury, the South End, Chinatown, and Fort Point Channel—to the Boston Harbor. The trail spans nearly 4 miles from Ruggles...
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Southwest Corridor Park is a 4.7-mile linear park through the Boston neighborhoods of South End, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. A recreation and commuter route popular with walkers, runners, and cyclists,...
The Assabet River Rail Trail provides a forested escape from the surrounding urban bustle. Traveling 8.6 miles (with plans to expand it) the trail connects the towns of Hudson and Marlborough and...
In the southeastern outskirts of Boston, the Hanover Branch Rail Trail connects the communities of Abington and Rockland. (Locally, the trail’s east and west halves are sometimes referred to as the...
The health and fortunes of Lowell have been intimately tied to the Concord River for hundreds of years. This tributary of the more well-known Merrimack River continues to be at the heart of the local...
Methuen Rail Trail connects three communities in northeastern Massachusetts as it follows the route of the former Manchester and Lawrence Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The rail-trail's...
The Charles River Bike Path, also referred to as the Charles River Greenway, offers a paved, 22-mile route from Boston to its western suburbs. The trail is also part of a larger, developing network...
The Peanut Trial is a distinct trail in the town of Newton that spans one-mile. This rail-trail was meant to connect to the Jay McLaren Memorial Trail. However, due to a controversial lawsuit by land...
The Haggetts Rail Trail is a short, but sweet unpaved trail located on the periphery of Haggetts Pond, the local reservoir for the nearby town of Andover. Built on part of the former line of the...
Currently 1.8 miles, the Salisbury Point Ghost Trail provides a peaceful walk or bike ride through the woods on a well-maintained stone-dust trail. The route is one part of the larger Coastal Trails...
The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail follows the route of the former Framingham and Lowell Railroad. It begins at the Lowell/Chelmsford city line, about 30 miles northwest of Boston, near Cross Point, a major...
The Salisbury Rail Trail Connector, also known as the Gillis Rail Trail Connector, is a 0.3-mile link between two rail-trails: Salisbury's Old Eastern Marsh Trail and Newburyport's Clipper City Rail...
The South Manchester Rail Trail is a proposed bike/pedestrian path that would connect the downtown Millyard area of Manchester to the Town on Londonderry. The South Manchester Rail Trail will utilize...
The Upper Falls Greenway is a short rail-trail that cuts through the charming village of Newton Upper Falls in Newton, Massachusetts. The trail occupies the same former rail corridor as the developing...
A lovely, albeit short, rail-trail in northeastern Massachusetts, the 1.3-mile Amesbury Riverwalk (a.k.a. Powwow Riverwalk) is the first completed section of the Coastal Trails Network, linking the...
The health and fortunes of Lowell have been intimately tied to the Concord River for hundreds of years. This tributary of the more well-known Merrimack River continues to be at the heart of the local...
The Upper Charles Trail will one day span more than 20 miles, connecting the communities of Milford, Ashland, Hopkinton, Sherborn and Holliston along a former CSX rail bed. The trail is being...
The Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail is a great example of a repurposed rail route that provides safe commuting opportunities while also allowing trail users to escape into forest environments for...
The trail begins in the small town of Boxford, about 25 miles north of Boston. For just shy of 5 miles, the hard-packed stone-dust pathway follows a former rail bed through Topsfield, meandering...
The Upper Falls Greenway is a short rail-trail that cuts through the charming village of Newton Upper Falls in Newton, Massachusetts. The trail occupies the same former rail corridor as the developing...
Mine Falls Park in Nashua is a 300-acre-plus urban park with a network of approximately 9.7 miles of a variety of trail types. This forested park offers an extraordinary nature experience in the heart...
The Dover Community Trail snakes its way through the heart of the Garrison City—so nicknamed for the fortified log houses, or garrisons, built by 17th-century settlers—-offering a variety of trail...
Independence Greenway offers just over 5 miles of trail in two disconnected segments through western Peabody. The rail-trail follows the former Salem and Lowell Railroad and offers nice views. It...
The Center Trail runs for less than a mile from Hopkinton's downtown to its high school and middle school, providing a safe route to school for thousands of students. The wooded trail, which once...
Methuen Rail Trail connects three communities in northeastern Massachusetts as it follows the route of the former Manchester and Lawrence Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The rail-trail's...
The World War II Veterans Memorial Trail opened in Mansfield in 2004 after several decades of advocacy by local rail-trail supporters. The trail rests on an abandoned corridor once served by the Old...
The Bedford Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail shares its trailhead at Depot Park in Bedford with the Minuteman Bikeway and Reformatory Branch Trail. Serving mainly as a commuter route, this trail extends just...
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Although only a grassy, hard-packed dirt pathway, the route along the Salem-Beverly Canal (also known as the Grand Wenham Canal), is scenic and peaceful. The old canal, built in 1917, lies between two...
The Old Eastern Marsh Trail (a.k.a the Salisbury Rail Trail) runs for 1.4 miles between the north bank of the Merrimack River and Mudnock Road in Salisbury. The beautifully landscaped trail was built...
The Haggetts Rail Trail is a short, but sweet unpaved trail located on the periphery of Haggetts Pond, the local reservoir for the nearby town of Andover. Built on part of the former line of the...
The Whitney Spur Rail Trail runs from just north of the MBTA’s Cohasset Station through dense woodlands to the edge of Wompatuck State Park. The corridor was originally a spur off the Old Colony...
This exquisitely maintained trail slices through forested areas and wetlands for a wonderful experience in southern New Hampshire. The trail will eventually be part of the Granite State Rail Trail,...
The Ten Mile River Greenway follows the winding course for 3 miles along the James Turner Reservoir (Ten Mile River). Though short, the trail is quite scenic and runs between the Kimberly Ann Rock...
Over 8 miles of the Northern Strand Community Trail, which follows the former Boston and Maine Railroad, are open to the public. Although this comprises two different trail surfaces, the Northern...
The Whitney Spur Rail Trail runs from just north of the MBTA’s Cohasset Station through dense woodlands to the edge of Wompatuck State Park. The corridor was originally a spur off the Old Colony...
Built in the 1910s by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) as part of the Connecticut River Division Main Line, the route introduced daily service to the B&M Fort Hill Branch in the early 1920s to meet...
The Spicket River begins in Derry, New Hampshire, through Methuen and Lawrence, Massachusetts, before draining into the Merrimack River. Like many mill towns of the late 19th and 20th centuries, the...
The smooth paved surface of the Londonderry Rail Trail offers a pleasant, tranquil 3.3-mile adventure for trail users in south-central New Hampshire. Its route follows a corridor once used by the...
The Old Eastern Marsh Trail (a.k.a the Salisbury Rail Trail) runs for 1.4 miles between the north bank of the Merrimack River and Mudnock Road in Salisbury. The beautifully landscaped trail was built...
The trail begins in the small town of Boxford, about 25 miles north of Boston. For just shy of 5 miles, the hard-packed stone-dust pathway follows a former rail bed through Topsfield, meandering...
A lovely, albeit short, rail-trail in northeastern Massachusetts, the 1.3-mile Amesbury Riverwalk (a.k.a. Powwow Riverwalk) is the first completed section of the Coastal Trails Network, linking the...
The Bedford Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail shares its trailhead at Depot Park in Bedford with the Minuteman Bikeway and Reformatory Branch Trail. Serving mainly as a commuter route, this trail extends just...
The Charles River Bike Path, also referred to as the Charles River Greenway, offers a paved, 22-mile route from Boston to its western suburbs. The trail is also part of a larger, developing network...
Mine Falls Park in Nashua is a 300-acre-plus urban park with a network of approximately 9.7 miles of a variety of trail types. This forested park offers an extraordinary nature experience in the heart...
You won't get lonely on the Minuteman Bikeway. The just over 10-mile rail-trail through suburban Boston is one of New England's most popular trails. Warm summer weekends in particular bring folks of...
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The Blackstone River Greenway (previously known as the Blackstone River Bikeway) represents a big undertaking in this tiny state: The 11.8-mile trail running between Woonsocket and the outskirts of...
The South Bay Harbor Trail connects several Boston neighborhoods—Lower Roxbury, the South End, Chinatown, and Fort Point Channel—to the Boston Harbor. The trail spans nearly 4 miles from Ruggles...
The 83 acre West Foss Farm is one of the properties owned by the University of New Hampshire, Durham. The property was purchased from the Boston & Maine Railroad company, and features a 1.6 stretch of...
The East Boston Greenway, a linear park made possible by the donation of a disused rail corridor by Conrail in 1997 and the ‘Big Dig’ project in later years, links Boston Harbor with new parks created...
The Haggetts Rail Trail is a short, but sweet unpaved trail located on the periphery of Haggetts Pond, the local reservoir for the nearby town of Andover. Built on part of the former line of the...
The Piscataquog Trail, though only about 2 miles long, provides a vital off-road link between the communities on the western side of the Merrimack River (the West Side of Manchester) to several parks...
In the southeastern outskirts of Boston, the Hanover Branch Rail Trail connects the communities of Abington and Rockland. (Locally, the trail’s east and west halves are sometimes referred to as the...
The Center Trail runs for less than a mile from Hopkinton's downtown to its high school and middle school, providing a safe route to school for thousands of students. The wooded trail, which once...
The health and fortunes of Lowell have been intimately tied to the Concord River for hundreds of years. This tributary of the more well-known Merrimack River continues to be at the heart of the local...
as i live in this area and bike often as possible to reduce my carbon footprint, i like the newponset riverway but i feel its lacking one trail that could be very beneficial, its an unofficial hidden trail running parallel to President golf course that connects Harriet street to Granite street, currently its very rocky and borderline dangerous but im sure its public access road?..? anyway just my 2cents
i had a vision of a foot/bike bridge over to the Newponset river greenway from that unofficial trail would really sweeten the biking commute from east milton to greenway...oh the possibilities
This is a delightful section of trail. But, the map does not match the description. The map only shows a piece between Fisher St. and Charles River St. in Needham. But, the trail (as per the description) extends from the Needham / Dover town line at the Charles River, west of Fisher Road, to just west of High Rock St. I particularly like the railroad cross bucks at the street crossings, which have been changed to read "rail trail crossing" and the crosswalk painting which has the cross bars longer to look line cross ties.
This is a great trail to get a few miles in on a bike. The trail is flat and well maintained. There are plenty of pretty spots along the way for taking breaks.
We very much enjoyed riding the almost completed northern potion of the the ARRT. Except for a short,maybe, 400 foot section near Summer Street and Rt. 27, the whole length is usable when construction is not occurring.
You can add on an additional almost 2 miles from the southern end of this new section and ride on gravel to Sudbury Road near Honey Pot Hill Orchards.
We started at the southern end, and the trail was great for a short ride. Then we got to the railroad station parking lot and could not find the rest of the trail. We rode down Forth st to the bridge and there was no trail that we could find. Look like the trail has a lot of potential to run along the river, and the paved short section we rod on was nice. Had a huge sub at Dougs Hoagies across the street from the Railroad station.
10/27/2017
Easy to locate by following directions on the trail page.
Park on Rt 23, Mason Rd.- dirt lot on the left. It is a half mi to trailhead on Morse Rd. The orange barrier is about 100 yards in from the road on the left, so if the leaves have not yet fallen, it may be difficult to see, but it should be rather obvious that the trail is there. A very short section also goes further south towards Townsend.
10.4 miles to the Mason Village depot. Average grade 2.8% going northbound. Therefore, you are going up hill, but you hardly notice. The road surface of crushed gravel, as a base, is very flat. With each crossing of a motor vehicle roadway, there are barriers and signs to warn you.
The trail is in excellent shape with some water across the trail, probably collecting in depressions caused by ATVs. This occurs beyond Pratt Pond at the top of the hook, but not so difficult that one cannot get around them. It was probably more obvious due to severe rain over the past 48 hrs.
Nice vistas and scenery along the way. At approximately 4 miles from the trailhead, there is a granite quarry loop on the left. I did not take it, so can offer no report.
At the end of the trail (9 miles), you will encounter a barricade that marks the intersection with Rt. 31. You should walk down to the highway and then you can ride on Rt 31 (take a left) to reach Old Wilton Road on your right. There is a bridge to cross. It is one more mile to the old depot in the center of town. Be careful on Rt. 31. Large trucks go very fast.
This trail is historically significant in that Henry David Thoreau, on September 6, 1852, rode this line (Peterboro’ & Shirley Railroad) from Ayer (Groton Junction at the time) [after riding the Fitchburg line from Concord to Ayer]. Reaching Mason Village (Greenville), he walked to Peterborough, stayed the night and continued on to the summit of Grand Monadnock, on foot. Later in the day, he descended to Troy, NH, and returned the same day to Concord, via the Cheshire RR, and, at Fitchburg, the Fitchburg RR.
As a Hudson resident this is my home course from Hudson to Marlboro and back. I extend it by riding through downtown Marlborough and picking up route 85, bike friendly width, to Southboro. They are extending the trail to Acton now, with sections paved. From Hudson trailhead, follow 62 north to Sudbury road, past Honey Pot Orchards. Cross Assabet river and gated dirt rd on left, turns to crushed stone after a mile, and paved at White pond rd crossing to Maynard. Ends on 27 towards Acton, and picks up again down 27 on your left. too many unfinished sections to get any speed going, but will be great when finished.
This is a lovely quiet running trail with a smooth, wide, soft dirt surface. Park in the lot off of Thomas Street and then run - it's a slight incline going up that you don't notice until you turn around and come back and are cooking. An absolutely beautiful run through the forest and next to water!! No dogs allowed in some sections so leave the pupper at home.
While there are portions of the frail where dogs are not allowed there are other portions where you CAN bring your dog. The area of the trail between Barre and Rutland is dog friendly. From the parking lot off of Rt. 140 in West Boylston you can bring a dog about half way up that portion of the trail. The dog walking portion is about a mile and a half each way.
Rode his trail on 10/2/17 from 122 up to 2A and back. I agree with the prior post in a sense that it is a tough trial to ride on anything but a mountain bike. There is a lot of sand, especially in the northern areas. I’m in pretty good shape but my muscles were screaming too.
On the other hand there is some nice scenery. I did it it’s out of my system. Glad I did but I’ll not ride it again. But it was a good workout.
This was a nice ride and major thanks to the directions from majorstratdude. One correction, step 4 there was only 3 miles not 6. We saw a huge turtle in one of the marshes along the way. Make sure to bring the directions with you.
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