Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Connecticut, 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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Hubby & I went this morning for a trial run with my new e-bike! It was tons of fun!!!!
We rode this trail yesterday from the parking lot at Dunkin' Donuts in Moosup all the way to the Rhode Island border. The surface alternates between paved and stone dust/fine gravel and is very well maintained throughout. You can see where dirt bikes would have access coming through the trees down some of the steep banks but we did not see any, unlike the situation that other reviews have mentioned. Perhaps reinforcing an unfortunate state stereotype, immediately upon crossing over into Rhode Island where it is then called The Trestle Trail, after about 6 miles, the trail deteriorates significantly into a dirt trail and likely would be fairly muddy when wet with lots of deep puddles. I also noticed an immediate onslaught of bugs which was interesting. We turned around at this point as we only wanted to ride the Connecticut portion. I was very curious after reading all the reviews over the years about how bad this trail used to be. If you're looking for solitude this is your trail, as opposed to many of the Connecticut trails to the West. We maybe saw five or six people for our entire ride. The guy who owns the house in the quarry is super friendly, as is his German Shepherd Fiona, and offered us water since the day was fairly hot after seeing us from his porch. I highly recommend this trail if you're looking for a quiet, shorter 12-mile round trip ride. Only downside: zero porta potties along the route. You can hit the Dunkin' Do restroom before and after the ride.
Great ride. First time on a gravel surface and found it pretty easy going with a few rough spots. It rained the night before and early morning, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Trail was damp but no big puddles. I took in 28 miles of the 40 out and back. Will do it again and try to get the whole distance.
Rode Simsbury down to Plainville. Simsbury to Avon was full of tree root bumps, and lots of branches & trail debris. It's almost as if Simsbury wants to keep cyclists out. ¿ However, Avon and Farmington were great rides, as was Plainville.
Rode from Avon, CT to Westfield, MA. Mass section in great shape. CT section is awful. Pavement is split, constant 'ka-thunk', pot holes not marked, just horrendous condition. Where is the CT DOT and our tax dollars? Stay away.
This trail was OK. The part along the river and in downtown was scenic and it was paved all the way.
However, it goes along the highway for a while with just a chain link fence as separation, which is not enjoyable at all (east of the gap is not scenic). It also has a lot of tree roots creating speed bumps. Finally, the gap between the river and the rest is significant (& don't take what looks like the most direct route as Pratt & Whittney has a security gate for part, so you can't get through unless employed there).
Currently there is a couple of sections that are really nice for the work thats been completed, but will be a fantastic trail once they have completed the sections necessary to connect them into one long trail. All the sections completed are mostly all paved and are great for walking/jogging/biking & wheelchair/stroller friendly. The only exception is tgr Naugatuck River Greenway section that starts at the Sullivan Senior Center, which has a paved trail that runs parallel to the the river and ends at the side road which you continue down a one way street that almost zig zags until you reach palmer bridge. Crossing the bridge and crossing to the paved trail that goes behind a condominium and continues until the end of the dirt parking lots (trail is paved) of John Toro Sports Complex, where the pavement ends towards the actual field. Then it transitions to the field with no defined trail. The Trail at that point isnt really distinct. I lived here most of my life and I didnt know until I saw a news article about The Rainbow Bridge and found that the trail in fact extended past where the pavement ends and continues straight past the dog park past both the first baseball field, the soccer field, and then about halfway through the 2nd baseball field there is a wide opening in the forest, where you then see the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge Trail. Which is an amazing small half looped trail, with some of the most beautiful works of art, and tributes to various pets (photos, stepping stones/memorial rock garden, a memorial fence, k-9 officers memorial bulletin board(s), sculptures, poems, signs, chairs, then the rainbow Bridge which is adorned with photos, momentos, stories, collars & tributes to pets of those who came to place their beloved pets memorials. After you find the exits shortly after that you can see the wide open pathway continues for a while on but ends at a fenced off area that currently is a business/underutilized "Sports park" that will eventually be replaced with a connector trail that will connect with other nearby trails.
There are lots of interesting things to see. Easy walk.
Rode a portion from Milldale north to Southington. All paved in fairly decent shape. A few bumps but no broken pavement. At the point in Southington the trail just ends with no information as to where to go. No signs or arrows. The trail picks up somewhere a few miles away but I couldn’t find out how to get there. On the portion I rode it was flat and easy, but not much to see other than woods and backs of buildings.
Was visiting the area and am so happy I got my gravel bike out to do this trail. As others have mentioned, it is very, very well maintained and quite smooth, enabling fast riding (I rode the entire trail as listed). As a former rail, this trail has nice and gradual elevation changes and has cool features like the tunnels and bridges. I'd highly recommend 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!
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