Find the top rated walking trails in Watertown, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Bissell name looms large in this part of New England, and has been immortalized in multiple ways, including the Bissell Ferry, the Bissell Memorial Bridge and now, the Captain John Bissell trail,...
The Chicopee Center Canal Walk offers a short pleasant route in Chicopee, a small city on the outskirts of Springfield in southern Massachusetts. The pathway closely follows the slow-moving canal and...
The Railroad Ramble occupies a corridor abandoned by the Central New England Railroad, which provided service from 1871 through 1967. In Lakeville, the trail can be found just off of Route 41 behind...
When completed, the Norwalk River Valley Trail will run from Danbury to Long Island Sound in southwestern Connecticut, for a total of about 27 miles. Currently, several disconnected sections totaling...
When complete, Connecticut’s Shoreline Greenway Trail will be a scenic 25-mile route through four quaint New England towns off Long Island Sound. From Lighthouse Point to Hammonasset Beach State Park,...
Open in several disconnected segments, the Billings Trail is a dirt path that traverses a lovely scenic and wooded landscape outside Norfolk in northern Connecticut. Built on the abandoned railbed of...
Running alongside both the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers, the Derby Greenway demonstrates a seamless integration of Connecticut’s natural river systems and parks with man-made interventions of the...
The Middlebury Greenway provides a paved, off-road option for a self-propelled journey across suburban Middlebury. The trail touches on several business districts and parks, ending at an amusement...
Bloomfield Greenway Multi-Use Trail is 1.8 miles between Bloomfield and Simsbury. The trail is envisioned to someday act as a connector between the City of Hartford and the Farmington Canal Heritage...
A dozen miles west of Connecticut’s capital of Hartford, the Farmington River Trail forms a 16.5-mile arc that connects to the larger Farmington Canal Heritage Trail on both ends. The rail-trail was...
A part of Connecticut's first bus rapid transit line, the CTfastrak Trail serves as recreational and multi-use path for walking and bicycling between Downtown New Britain and Newington Junction. The...
The Naugatuck River Greenway will one day span 44 miles from Torrington to Derby in western Connecticut, but is currently open in a few short disconnected segments totaling just over 5 miles. The...
The Stratton Brook State Park Trail presents a great way to work up an appetite for a picnic at Stratton Brook State Park, the first state park in Connecticut to be entirely wheelchair accessible. The...
The Bronx River travels from the mouth of the East River north to the Kensico Dam, providing views of the natural history of the area. Because the trail is under development, there are several gaps...
The Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway, which will one day run 21 miles along the river, currently has two open segments. The longest stretches 3.7 miles from the Chicopee town line to the South End...
The Air Line State Park Trail winds nearly 55 miles from the northeast corner of Connecticut, where the state borders Massachusetts, down to East Hampton in the heart of the state. The pathway is...
First a canal, then a railroad, and now a trail define the history of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. Completed segments span Connecticut south to north, from New Haven to the Massachusetts...
The Kennedy Trail begins at Brick Hill Road and ends at the northwest corner of the 68-acre campus of John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers. The cinder trail, built on a former rail bed,...
The Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail stretches just over 3 miles along Long Island’s north shore. Construction was completed in two phases with the first trail section opening in 2009...
The Southwick Rail Trail extends from the Massachusetts–Connecticut state line north to the Westfield town line and connects to the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail. Along the way, it travels through...
The EPCAL Alternative Transportation Path loops around the 2,900-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton (hence its name: EPCAL) on New York’s Long Island and links to the Town of Riverhead’s 65-acre...
The Kingston Point Rail Trail will be a paved pathway stretching from Kingston’s midtown to the Rondout Creek waterfront, connecting important points in the community such as Kingston High School,...
The Branford Trolley Trail is essentially a long footbridge occupying an old bridge along the route of an abandoned trolley track. The bridge links nature trails on both sides of the water through a...
Just an hour north of New York City, the Timp-Torne Trail offers a scenic hike through Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks with panoramic vistas of the Hudson River. The rugged blue-blazed trail...
The Pequonnock River Trail is not a name you will see on the ground along this developing trail in southwestern Connecticut. Formalized in 2001 by the state, the regional trail pieced together...
The old New York Central rail line that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties carried commuters during the workweek, but on the weekends tourists...
The Mohansic Trailway is a rail-trail providing an important link between the North County Trailway and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park. The trailway occupies a short-lived spur of the New...
The Chicopee Center Canal Walk offers a short pleasant route in Chicopee, a small city on the outskirts of Springfield in southern Massachusetts. The pathway closely follows the slow-moving canal and...
Paralleling the Connecticut and Massachusetts borders, which lie only a few miles away, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail is a beautiful paved wooded pathway along the former New York & Harlem Railroad...
The Cheney Rail Trail follows part of the corridor of the South Manchester Railroad, built by the Cheney brothers in 1869. The line was a 2.5-mile spur from the main Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill...
Over 2 miles from start to finish, this U-shaped trail meets both the commuting and the recreational needs of local residents in Middletown. The trail begins on Middle St, marked by a trailhead with a...
The Redstone Rail Trail is built on the former New York, New Haven & Hartford Armory Branch, which in turn is a former branch line of the New York & New England RR. Its name comes from the numerous...
Coming in at just under 3 miles, the Sue Grossman Still River Greenway is anchored by the towns of Winchester to the north and Torrington to the south. It occupies the right-of-way of the Naugatuck...
The Bronx River travels from the mouth of the East River north to the Kensico Dam, providing views of the natural history of the area. Because the trail is under development, there are several gaps...
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The Rockville Spur, a section of Vernon Rails-to-Trails, is a stone-dust rail-trail stretching 4.2 miles into the heart of historical Rockville. The trail begins on Warren Avenue in Vernon, but you’ll...
The William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail—named for the Dutchess County executive who championed it—is a treasure in New York's Hudson Valley region. The 13.1-mile trail runs through what seems...
The Larkin State Park Trail meanders 10.8 miles through the woods and around the lakes and low hills of southwestern Connecticut. The rail-trail follows the route of the New York & New England...
The Windsor River Trail is a paved trail along the Connecticut River in Windsor Meadows State Park. The trail begins at the state park’s parking lot on E Barber St. The Captain John Bissell Trail,...
Offering a picturesque and family-friendly adventure, the Hudson Valley Rail Trail stretches 7.1 miles through hardwood forests, over Black Creek, and under two spectacular stone-arch bridges....
The Air Line State Park Trail winds nearly 55 miles from the northeast corner of Connecticut, where the state borders Massachusetts, down to East Hampton in the heart of the state. The pathway is...
Open in several disconnected segments, the Billings Trail is a dirt path that traverses a lovely scenic and wooded landscape outside Norfolk in northern Connecticut. Built on the abandoned railbed of...
The Middlebury Greenway provides a paved, off-road option for a self-propelled journey across suburban Middlebury. The trail touches on several business districts and parks, ending at an amusement...
The 3.1-mile Kress Family Trail in Roxbury occupies the former route of the Shepaug Valley Railroad (the Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern Railroad). The railroad was famously known as the “crookedest...
The Bronx River travels from the mouth of the East River north to the Kensico Dam, providing views of the natural history of the area. Because the trail is under development, there are several gaps...
The Air Line State Park Trail winds nearly 55 miles from the northeast corner of Connecticut, where the state borders Massachusetts, down to East Hampton in the heart of the state. The pathway is...
The Southwick Rail Trail extends from the Massachusetts–Connecticut state line north to the Westfield town line and connects to the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail. Along the way, it travels through...
The old New York Central rail line that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties carried commuters during the workweek, but on the weekends tourists...
The Qunnipiac Linear Trail is an easy multipurpose path in Wallingford, Connecticut. The trail skirts Community Lake while traveling a heavily wooded corridor along the Quinnipiac River. It is one of...
Bloomfield Greenway Multi-Use Trail is 1.8 miles between Bloomfield and Simsbury. The trail is envisioned to someday act as a connector between the City of Hartford and the Farmington Canal Heritage...
The Bissell name looms large in this part of New England, and has been immortalized in multiple ways, including the Bissell Ferry, the Bissell Memorial Bridge and now, the Captain John Bissell trail,...
The Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway, which will one day run 21 miles along the river, currently has two open segments. The longest stretches 3.7 miles from the Chicopee town line to the South End...
The Manhan Rail Trail, well integrated into the local communities it serves, offers a pleasant ride or stroll. It conveniently weaves together parks, community points of interest, neighborhoods, and...
The Klara Sauer Trail (formerly known as the Beacon Riverside Trail) runs for 1 mile along the Hudson River on the west side of New York's village of Beacon. The trail occupies the same corridor as...
The Stratton Brook State Park Trail presents a great way to work up an appetite for a picnic at Stratton Brook State Park, the first state park in Connecticut to be entirely wheelchair accessible. The...
The Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
The Kings Park Hike & Bike Trail runs for 1.5 miles between Old Dock Road at Church Street in Kings Park and Nissequogue River State Park. The trail is a town of Smithtown park and follows an...
The Chicopee Center Canal Walk offers a short pleasant route in Chicopee, a small city on the outskirts of Springfield in southern Massachusetts. The pathway closely follows the slow-moving canal and...
Fahnestock State Park is a relatively undiscovered gems in the New York State Park System. Located a few miles east of Cold Spring Village on Rt. 301 (Main Street), the park jurisdiction was recently...
Over 2 miles from start to finish, this U-shaped trail meets both the commuting and the recreational needs of local residents in Middletown. The trail begins on Middle St, marked by a trailhead with a...
The Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail is a 1.3-mile rail-trail in Meridan, Connecticut. The trail occupies the former railbed of the Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroad, a 17-mile line which...
The Kennedy Catholic School is private property. Do not enter or depart the trail from the southern endpoint at Kennedy Catholic.
The Kennedy Catholic High School parking lot is private property and they have not given anyone walking the trail permission to access the trail via their parking lot . As with any school they are very protective of the student body and control who has access to the school and parking lot. DO NOT PARK IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT. Do not access the trail from the Kennedy Catholic High School.
What can I say, this is a great trail for a bike ride. Great scenery, flat for the most part and wasn't a lot of people. Must do trail
Great trail with beautiful views. In some section you're secluded (so be mindful) if alone. Trail is clean and flat best trail so far of 2022.
I started This trail in downtown Derby in May 2022. They are doing some construction in the area where they say you can park. Go on a Sunday and park in the City Hall parking lot. Beside the parking and the tons of walker on the path is not bad.
Trail is nice for the size, well paved but hills. You can park on the back side of Maggie's and there are other places to park along the way.
I rode most of the Maybrook Trailway on a cold Easter Sunday in 2022. We started in Hopewell Junction and ended at a park right outside of Brewster. The trail is completely paved, very wide and in immaculate condition. There are mile markers but they are easy to miss and I wasn't quite sure what they were counting up or down towards as they did not start at 0. There are slight elevation changes that made riding back feel a little more difficult but there are no significant hills.
The scenery is nice but it is very monotonous with lakes being the only real variation to the trees and the disused railroad that encompasses the rest of the Maybrook Trailway. Since I did not make it all the way to Brewster proper I cannot speak to any sort of facilities there but the only real bathrooms or shelter/benches I found were at the very beginning in Hopewell Junction and where we ended near Brewster.
On e Bikes; trail to north from Windham generally passable but long wet areas (eventually turned around) and trail a bit rougher than going south from Willimantic. The south trail is in much better shape and had inviting scenery with streams, farms and wetlands/lakes + virtually no wet areas on trail. Went to RT 87 (about 8 miles) from Willimantic. Plan to do this again and go further.
Uninteresting trail under power lines that actually does not welcome bikes.
Great trail and very scenic. All paved and pavement in very good shape. Parked at lot on New Britain Ave. and went NW to Collinsville and then to Rte. 44 in Canton. Then rode trail back to start.
10 miles each way. Very enjoyable journey. 90%+ of ride is on nice wide trail. First half of trip is constant, gentle up gradient. Ride back about 60% faster since going mostly gently downhill along river.
Parked at lot on Railroad St off of 44. New parking lot and pavilion with new overpass for trail over main road. Took trail NE to Town Farm Rd. and then streets into Putnam. Trail in this section gets average rating of 2+. Trail base is coarse rock (1.5" +) with washed out ruts. Somewhat bumpy ride. Only good for bikes with wider tires. In Putnam went south on Putnam River Trail (excellent paved trail) south to bridge over Quinebaug River. Crossed river climbed up steep hill to get to old rail trail and took this back to starting point.
Next went SW from rail station on trail to Covell Road. This section of trail in very good shape. Hard packed gravel base. I'd rate this a 4. Easy going for most bikes.
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