www.new-england-rail-trails.org

Rail-Trails of Massachusetts

All bookmarks and other references to :
http://www.crosswinds.net/railtrails/
http://railtrails.megalow.com/
http://railtrails.topcities.com/
will lead to defective or out of date Web pages!  

Note that those Web pages still on the Tripod Server at
http://members.tripod.com/Kenyon_Karl/
are still valid (to the Webmaster's knowledge)
despite the absence of any recent updates!


The Massachusetts Bikeways page at the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition Web Site seems to have the best list of the Rail-trails and other bike paths and bike routes in the State. That Web Page in turn seems to provide links to whatever other information is available on the Web about these particular bikeways. What follows is a Supplement to the information that is currently available at the Massachusetts Bikeways Page!

Map of long distance multi-use trails in Massachusetts

This overview map has been compiled by Bryce Nesbitt to show the geographical relationships between various existing, proposed and potential rail-trails as well as other long distance multi-use trails in the State. 

Arnold Arboretum 

This 125-year-old Boston city park and Harvard research center was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and has a wonderful set of roads which are mostly closed to motorized traffic. While they were once closed to bicycles, that is no longer true. [MassBike site]

Ashuwillticook Trail

Under Construction - Pittsfield/Lanesboro line to Adams

Assabet River Rail Trail

Planned - with portions under construction - South Action to Marlboro

Bedford Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail 

Unpaved trail running north from Bedford Center to Billerica Town Line. 

Bike to the Sea

A proposed trail from Everett to Lynn via Malden and Saugus.

Blackstone River Bikeway (in Massachusetts)

Under construction between Worcester and Providence, RI

Williamsburg Rail-Trail (Burghy Bikers)

A proposed rail-trail in Williamsburg

Border to Boston Bikeway

A proposed rail-trail from Danvers to Salisbury via Georgetown and Newburyport.

Cape Cod Rail Trail

Dennis to South Welfleet - 25 miles -Asphalt

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail Handicapped Access

Central Mass. Rail Trail

Under construction between Oakdale (West Boylston) & Barre.

Cochituate Rail Trail

A proposed rail-trail from Natick to Saxonville

Dedham Rail-Trail

Dedham to Readville

East Boston Greenway

The rail-trail segment runs from Airport subway station to the waterfront in East Boston.

Essex Railroad Rail-Trail

A proposed rail-trail from Danvers to North Andover

Fitchburg Cutoff Bikepath

A short rail-trail running West from Alewife Subway Station in West Cambridge.

Franklin Trail

An extension of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail In Franklin.

Metacomet Land Trust
Christie Anderberg, Executive Director
PO Box 231
Franklin MA 02038
Telephone: 508-528-5267
E-Mail: [email protected] 

Halibut Point State Park (Official Web Site)

This State Park in Rockport on Cape Anne is built around an old granite quarry, thus some of the trails utilize the beds of the quarry railroad.

Harwich to Chatham

Under construction from the Cape Cod Rail-Trail in Harwich to downtown Chatham.

Highland Division Rail-Trail

Proposed - 1.7 miles - Springfield

Holliston section of the proposed Upper Charles Bike Trail

Lowell Canalway

A 3.5 section of the canal system within the Lowell National Historic Park is briefly described in section I of  the Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy New England Guidebook by Cynthia Mascott published in 2000 by Globe Pequot Press. Note that this is a water trail used by National Park Service operated canal boats on a seasonal basis.  

Lowell-Sudbury (Bruce Freeman) Trail

Planned - Sudbury to Lowell

Manhan Rail Trail

Planned - within Northampton with connections to the Norwottuck Rail Trail and Northampton Bikeway.

Maudsley State Park (Official Web Site)

A former private estate in Newburyport that features a delightful network of Carriage Roads 

Marblehead Bike Paths - Salem to Lynn

Salem to Marblehead and thence to the Swampscott Line.

Proposed extension to Swampscott MBTA Station

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail  

Mass Central Rail-Trail (valid after 4/29/02)

A new website has been created for the Mass Central Railroad as a whole, with pointers & maps (eventually) for all the individual trail efforts along the way.

Mass Central Rail-Trail

Mattapoisett Bike and Recreational Path

Minuteman Commuter Bikeway

Alewife Subway Station in West Cambridge to Bedford Center - 11 miles paved - open for public use

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail  

Mt. Tom Service Road

A paved road to the summit of Mount Tom is apparently closed to vehicles, except those required to service the TV transmitters located near the mountain top. This paved service road apparently occupies the bed of the Mt. Tom Railroad, and thus qualifies as a 'rail-trail. Views On and About Mt. Tom and Mt. Tom Railroad is the Web Posting of a booklet published in 1912 about the mountain and its unusual trolley line.

Nashua River Rail Trail

Ayer-Hollis Depot (in Nashua NH) -  Unpaved trail currently open on an informal basis.

Neponset River Greenway

Within Neponsit River Reservation along Boston-Milton Line - Under Construction.

Newburyport Bikepath

A four mile trail within Newburyport that was was promised as part of the MBTA commuter rail extension project but never built:

North Central Pathway

Gardner-Winchendon - Planned with many sections currently open on an informal basis. 

Norwood to Attleborough Rail Trail

Part of the route of the East Coast Greenway from Boston to Providence RI.

Norwottuck Rail Trail

Amherst to Northampton - 9 miles - Asphalt

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail  

Northampton Bikeway

Within Northampton - 3 miles -Asphalt

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail  

Old Colony Rail Trail

Within Mansfield & Norton - 5 miles - planned. 

Peabody Bikeway

A proposal for a 6.6 mile trail on the Boston & Maine RR bed beginning at Peabody Square.

Quarries Footpath

Hiking trail

A 0.5 section of trail within the Quincy Quarries is briefly described in section J of  the Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy New England Guidebook by Cynthia Mascott published in 2000 by Globe Pequot Press

Quinebaug Valley Trail

10.8-mile trail - Southbridge, Dudley, Webster, Thompson, CT.

Reformatory Branch

Bedford to Concord - in use on an informal basis.

Red Line Linear Park Bikepath

Shining Sea Bike Path

Falmouth to Woods Hole - 3 miles - Asphalt

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail Handicapped Access

Somerville Community Path (Official Web Site)

A proposal for a bike path in Somerville linking the existing linear park at Davis Square to Lechmere.

South Ashburton to Winchendon

A potential Rail-trail that is open on an informal basis only at its two ends

Southern New England Trunkline Trail

Franklin MA to CT State Line - 20 miles - Gravel & Ballast

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail Handicapped Access

Southwest Corridor

Books about the Trail:

A 5 mile section of the Trail within Boston (Back Bay Station to Forest Hills Station) is described in section 17 of  the Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy New England Guidebook by Cynthia Mascott published in 2000 by Globe Pequot Press. This trail listing contains a photograph, historical description, trail head directions and parking, a trail map, trail details, a local trail manager contact, and much more. 

Sterling Rail-Trail

Taunton to Somerset

A proposed Rail-Trail

Townsend

A potential Rail-Trail

Tri-Community Bikeway

Upper Charles Trail

Ware River Rail-trail

Bicycle Trail Hiking trail Cross Country Skiing Horse Trail Snowmobiling

Watertown Branch Rail Trail

Wayside Rail Trail

West Roxbury Rail Trail

Westford Trail

Williamsburg Rail-Trail (Burghy Bikers)

A proposed rail-trail in Williamsburg

Yankee Doodle Bikeway

A proposed extension of the Bedford Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail through Billerica. 


Sign images are from the Manual of Traffic Signs by Richard C. Moeur.

Updated on December 11, 2002 by Kenyon F. Karl <[email protected]>.
  Unintentional errors are likely!

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