Moosup Valley State Park Trail

Moosup Valley State Park Trail
Bridge at the west end of the trail in Moosup
Length5.8 miles (9.3 km)
LocationPlainfield & Sterling, Connecticut
Established1987
DesignationConnecticut state park
TrailheadsMoosup (41°42′47″N 71°52′52″W / 41.71306°N 71.88107°W / 41.71306; -71.88107)
State line in Sterling (41°41′44″N 71°47′19″W / 41.69561°N 71.78855°W / 41.69561; -71.78855)
UseHiking, biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing
SightsWoodlands, Moosup River
SurfaceVarious: dirt with some grass, sand and gravel; old railroad ballast
Maintained byConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
WebsiteMoosup Valley State Park Trail

The Moosup Valley State Park Trail is a rail trail located on the railbed of a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad line in the New England towns of Plainfield and Sterling in Windham County, Connecticut.[1] The line ran from 1898 until 1968.[2] The rail line was abandoned in the late 1960s, and was designated by the state as a multi-use trail in 1987. The trail is owned and operated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

It runs for approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from Main Street in the center of the village of Moosup to the Rhode Island state line in the town of Sterling, where the trail continues into Rhode Island as the Coventry Greenway.[2] The Moosup Valley Trail, together with the Quinebaug River Trail and the Air Line Trail, is "a critical link" in the Hartford to Providence section of the planned East Coast Greenway.[3]

Crossings

Town Carrying Notes Coordinates
Plainfield Route 14 parking area/

terminus

41°42′46″N 71°52′52″W / 41.7129°N 71.8812°W / 41.7129; -71.8812
Moosup River river crossing 41°42′49″N 71°52′48″W / 41.7135°N 71.8800°W / 41.7135; -71.8800
River St. 41°42′51″N 71°52′44″W / 41.7141°N 71.8790°W / 41.7141; -71.8790
Barber Hill Rd. 41°43′02″N 71°52′07″W / 41.7171°N 71.8686°W / 41.7171; -71.8686
Brunswick Ave. 41°42′59″N 71°51′39″W / 41.7165°N 71.8608°W / 41.7165; -71.8608
Route 14 overpass 41°43′10″N 71°51′31″W / 41.7194°N 71.8587°W / 41.7194; -71.8587
Sterling Moosup River 41°42′46″N 71°50′11″W / 41.7127°N 71.8364°W / 41.7127; -71.8364
Main St. 41°42′36″N 71°49′54″W / 41.7101°N 71.8316°W / 41.7101; -71.8316
Industrial Park Rd. 41°42′33″N 71°49′45″W / 41.7091°N 71.8293°W / 41.7091; -71.8293
Route 14 41°42′25″N 71°49′33″W / 41.7069°N 71.8257°W / 41.7069; -71.8257
Providence Rd. underpass 41°41′52″N 71°48′33″W / 41.6978°N 71.8093°W / 41.6978; -71.8093
Spring Lake Rd. 41°41′48″N 71°48′01″W / 41.6968°N 71.8003°W / 41.6968; -71.8003
Route 14A 41°41′48″N 71°47′54″W / 41.6967°N 71.7983°W / 41.6967; -71.7983
Sterling/

Coventry

CT/ RI

State Border

terminus 41°41′44″N 71°47′19″W / 41.6956°N 71.7887°W / 41.6956; -71.7887

References

  1. ^ "Moosup Valley State Park Trail". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. September 13, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Moosup Valley State Park Trail". TrailLink. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. ^ "Connecticut National Recreational Trails Program Recreational Trails Plan" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. September 2011. p. 4. Retrieved May 7, 2014.