Find the top rated horseback riding trails in Connecticut, whether you're looking for an easy short horseback riding trail or a long horseback riding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a horseback riding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Wonderful little trail...little bit on the residential side....but nevertheless wonderful. Very disappointing that we don't allow bicycling....nasty anti-bike sentiment among the comments. Lots of no-bike paths in Florida.
Pros: Clean toilets. Clean parking lot. View of the Connecticut River and bridges. Not much traffic. Cons: Bumpy trail. Geese on the trail. Goose poop covered trail. Geese will not let you go by if their goslings are with them. The smell of the canal in some locations. Water flowing on both sides of the trail (not for children).
I HAVE HIKED THIS SEVERAL TIMES. IN THE OPENING INFO THEY SAY ITS ONE MILE BUT THIS IS NOT CORRECT. ITS OVER TWICE THAT. PASSES THROUGH PEOPLES BACK YARDS AND I TAKE IT TO THE BRIDGE THAT OVER LOOKS CENTER SPRINGS PARK. A VERY NICE VIEW. I ACCESS IT ON HILLARD STREET MANCHESTER. NICE IN TOWN TRAIL. VERY FLAT. TRAIL GET QUITE ROUGH ROCK WISE ONCE YOU GO PAST THE BRIDGE AREA BY CENTER SPRINGS PARK. I RECOMMEND JUST GOING TO THE BRIDGE AND TURNING AROUND SO AS TO AVOID TWISTING ONES ANKLE ETC. EVEN THEN YOU GET A 4-5 MILE HIKE OUT OF IT ROUND TRIP. JOE :)
This trail goes from the north end of Trout Hatchery Road in Plainfield to the mill village of Wauregan. Trail Link says it is paved, but it is dirt. It is planned to be part of the East Coast Greenway, but currently the ECG follows parallel Shepard Hill Road to the east. In the early Twentieth Century, it was the trolley route north south in this area. Trout Hatchery Road was also part of the trolley route. This will be a flatter and off road route when improved.
Took my brand new bicycle on its maiden voyage on this trail. It was great fun. Rode for about 3 hours and loved every minute of it. The historic information posted along the trail is nicely done. The fact that there are restrooms at the trail head is fantastic! They really did a nice job with this trail. Highly recommend it for all. Very kid friendly.
This trail starts off with a nice railroad bridge then after crossing the road, continues paved for a short ride, then turns to mush. I followed a side trail (mean for a mountain bike) up the hill to the west side and followed the trail which seems to be muddy in some spots, not paved and in poor shape.
Like everyone else stated, skip that part for now.
Trail Report - The section of the Airline Trail from the dirt parking lot on Route 149 to the Blackledge River is currently under construction, about 1and 1/2 miles. You can ride east but not to the west due the resurfacing work.
New Extension Route 196 in East Hampton to Alden's Crossing (1.6 miles), is about 1/2 done. It has the gravel bedding in place but not the stone dust riding surface. The drainage design is poor and there are 4 large wet areas and erosion spots. It is ride-able but not too scenic or any fun.
Work has begun to connect the Bridgeport section of the trail which ends at the north end of Quarry Road, over the Merrit Parkway to Rocky Hill Road in Trumbull. Progress can be seen from the ramps connecting RT-15 to RT25.
The trail is not very wide (fits about four people across) and not really long enough for a decent bike ride. Best suited to walking. As others have said there are a lot of sections that are not shaded.
If you want a longer walk you can cross Division St and walk a section that was added on the Ansonia side. There are a few short inclines, most of the trail is flat.
Unfortunately our ride on this trail was cut short due to the weather, combined with having to ride on the road. We started in Bridgeport near Glenwood Park. There was parking on the street near the start of the trail on Crown Rd. I'd suggest skipping the first segment of the trail that "starts" near the Bridgeport Transportation Center. This part is basically a brief road ride through a not so nice section of the city. The ride through Glenwood Park is nice, as it flanks the river. To continue to Twin Brooks Park and the continuation of the trail, you have to go left on Route 127 (White Plains Rd.). You can access Route 127 to the right, past a metal gate, just after passing remnants of a stone structure. If you bear left after this structure, you'll cross a bridge over the river to a parking lot. We look forward to returning to ride the rest.
With the southern section nearly continuous from New Haven to Southington (minus the West Main Street-Cornwall Avenue gap in Cheshire), the next major gap is Plainville and its surroundings. The Curtiss Street-Lazy Lane segment is due to be constructed as part of the SRS Superfund remediation, though it looks like not much has been done yet besides brush-cutting. The small bridge immediately north of Curtiss Street has also been re-decked for trail use. Lazy Lane-West Queen Street is in the early stages of planning as a state project and will bring the trail almost to the end of the active railroad.
Heading north from Plainville, the trail construction from Northwest Drive to Red Oak Hill Road in Farmington is moving right along, with most of the trail already paved. The last major piece here will be the Route 6 bridge, which is due to be installed in 2017.
The active railroad between Birch Street in Southington and Northwest Drive in Plainville will present challenges to resolving the remaining gap, but a study is underway to determine the best possible routing.
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