Connecticut – Air Line State Park Trail

October 6, 2020

This rail-trail was used by the Air Line Railroad as part of a direct route between Boston and New York. It was so named because the tracks ran flat and straight, like a line in the sky.

We started our ride in Willimantic near the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum, which was closed for renovations. We would have enjoyed a closer look at some of the old vintage railcars.

Bridge at start of trail.

We road an uphill grade for more then 7 miles to begin. I just kept thinking how nice it will be on the way back and it was nice. We then had several miles of down hill which was a refreshing change.

Taken at our 47th mile into our Connecticut 100 on our 47th Anniversary.

Most of the trail was shaded. Large parts of the trail were high above the forest floor on the raised railbed. We love to ride a trail like this because the views of the forest are awesome.

Wetland area with beautiful fall colors.

Many of the road crossings had steep hills with loose gravel which I found to be really brutal.

Old bus in the woods along the trail.
More fall colors
Mural along trail near Raymond Brook Wildlife Management Area.
Brings back memories of our wonderful fall rides in Michigan.

Some parts of the trail had leaves at least a foot deep.

We wanted to add a few more miles on our way back to the campground so stopped at a trail we had passed yesterday. It was near the airport and looked really intriguing. As it turned out the bike path only traveled over a dam but was over a mile long.

The bike path was on a dam high above an airport on one side and a reservoir on the other.
The water in the reservoir was quite low but still beautiful.
Great views from top of dam. Yes, more fall colors!!
We only rode about 3 miles here but the views were well worth the stop. There were people out with tripods and cameras taking pictures.

We are well into our 100 miles and are really enjoying the beautiful forests and trails of Connecticut.

One thought on “Connecticut – Air Line State Park Trail”

Comments are closed.