Mass Central Rail Trail
MA - 56.36 miles
Surfaces: Asphalt,Cinder,Crushed Stone,Dirt,Gravel
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The Townsend trail is all paved, wide enough for 2 bikes to pass each other. I take my dog in a trailer behind my ebike. The trail is on both sides of the road. The one on the right side is further away from the road and more hilly. The one on the left side has more road noise, once u get away from the river. It is the side with all the businesses on it so lots for driveway bumps. You can connect to the other side by 2 different bike tunnels so u don’t have to cross the road. We rode on a Thursday so traffic was so so but enough to make up want to ride the other side. Not a very interesting trail but nice enough.
It’s an okay path. Bicycling it’s quite bumpy. Bumpiest greenway of all the trails I’ve been on in the county.
Use gps route its not well marked like others have said but part of the fun was planning the route and then finding your way as you go.
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Thoroughly enjoyable, three hour ride, passing chest at the beach, through neighborhoods, wildlife conservation areas, and over bridges. The Bristol parking lot is being redone and cannot be used, but we found parking on the streets. There were at least two detours in Barrington, but that made it only more exciting. only nice people on the trail and drivers stopped very politely at every of the many intersections. Overall, this ride was a pleasure and worth the 1 Hour drive to get there.
We rode from east Medicine Lake Park to Fish Lake Regional Park. Except for a few miles along a noisy 4 lane road it was a pretty trail. Parts of trail appeared to have been recently resurfaced. But other parts were very rough. I missed 1 turn off because of no signage, but was able to get back on track with Trail Link map.
It's quiet, has plenty of shade, peppered with picnic tables, and markings for 5K, 10K, half and full Marathon runs starting from the Intervale trailhead (bathrooms). Trail was closed due to recent washout about 8 or 9 mi up from Intervale.
We rode part of it and found asphalt surface in good condition. A few places near town had some bumps but most of the surface was smooth. Trail was well marked with signs and where it crossed a road had signs to warn drivers. There were some walkers on the trail but at the time we rode it wasn’t crowded at all. I wish we had time to ride more of it. Most of the tail we were on was adjacent to streets but they were low traffic so it wasn’t noisy and was very pleasant riding conditions some spots had very nice view of the lake.
This trail needs MAJOR maintenance south of the TCC campus. Tree limbs are growing out over it, preventing bicycling. The grass in places has grown 6 inches in from each side. The part going under the Creek Turnpike needs to be re-surfaced in some areas & have runoff dirt 3 inches deep removed in others. I call it the Kilimanjaro Trail leading to the hiking area where the turnpike diverges. It's like navigating a jungle to pass through it.
Nicely paved side walk between American Bank Center and Oleander Park. Anywhere not in between has too much high speed car traffic.
did trail 7 years ago. What a change!! Smooth all the way from Copake Falls to Wassaic!!!! Did 50 mile round trip then took a dip in the spring fed lake at Taconic Hills State park. Can walk to the lake from the trail head at copake falls. Also a nice state park with interesting sights. We stayed in Great Barrington , 10 miles from Copake Falls. Make sure you check out the Barrington Brewery. Great beer, great food.
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Good ride that connects you to the Centennial Trail. Nice and wide with easy road crossings
We rode the Walker Loop, a great 22 mile loop that includes the Paul Bunyan, Shingobee and Heartland Trails. Some steep hills but not a problem on our e-bikes. The trail was in good condition. The next day we rode the Paul Bunyan north from Walker to LaPorte. The trail definitely had some rough spots, but it was all worth it when we happened to find a super cute coffee shop/lunch spot about a block off the trail. There are no signs so you won’t expect to see this little gem in this tiny little town. It’s called The Door. I was told the city would not allow them to put a sign along the trail!
You can’t beat this. Start down south at the boatyard and go north to the end. But don’t end there- go right over the bridge then head back south on the quiet paved road down to footpath road. Takes you back to the start. Remember to be respectful on your bike / e-bike
This trail was really fun! Easy to zoom-zoom especially eastbound. The unpaved section had some dirt patches but they weren’t really problematic. Rothsville Rd crossing eastbound is a bit risky due to poor visibility. I also saw some stunning views in the Warwick Twp. section. Worth the hour drive.
I walked this trail while visiting Austin and was not disappointed. Great views and several people which made me feel safe in an unfamiliar area.
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