Norwottuck Rail Trail

May 25, 2020 Cloudy

The Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail is part of the Connecticut River Greenway State Park. It is an 11-mile paved trail from Northampton to Belchertown in the Pioneer Valley. We started in Northampton and rode about 7 miles to Amherst.

We parked near the western trail head and entered the trail. Right beyond the parking lot, the trail crossed the Connecticut River on the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge.

Most of the trail goes over a rural landscape. There are woods and farms on both sides of the trail, and views of the Mount Holyoke Range.

Going from Northampton to Amherst, there is a slight uphill. We turned around after reaching parts of UMass Amherst. There are a few benches along the way, but we did not find many businesses or restaurants.

The trail itself is well maintained, and there are mile markers and half-mile markers along the way. Most of it is shaded and there are few road crossings, making it very pleasant to ride.

A very smooth and mostly level trail with great views of mountains and farms. Plenty of fresh air and some shade.
Nice bike trail along farms. The scenery is a little monotonic.
It was fun to see the baby squirrels run over the path until I almost hit a few.
The bike trail was good and there were some bridges.
The was a bike trail and it went over a bridge and it went over water 12 miles.