🚨Trail news alert: a brand new section of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail has opened up in New Haven! Many are already enjoying this new 1.6-mile leg of the East Coast Greenway, which connects its previous terminus at Temple Street to the Canal Dock Boathouse. One segment travels below street level through a tunnel containing interpretive displays about the canal’s history!

The CT Trail Census team is interested in identifying use patterns in this newly opened area and sharing the information with our partners, including you! Pictured here are Trail Census team members installing an infrared pedestrian counter there, with help from our friends at New Haven City Plan Department (photo taken by Laura Brown, City Plan Executive Director). Check out the trail in the photo background and pay it a visit in person sometime soon! #FriendFriday

Learn more about CT Trail Census and check out the data dashboard here: cttrails.uconn.edu/ct_trail_census/

And find the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail here – to be updated soon!: www.cttrailfinder.com/trails/trail/farmington-canal-heritage-trail ... See MoreSee Less

It’s #TrailsTuesday and we hear the trail calling your name! Try Canfield Woods – an eight-mile network of primarily easy-to-moderate hiking trails with some steeper sections. While you walk through both old and new growth forest (like an over 100-year-old tulip tree!), look for several unique characteristics. Trails contain multiple geologic features, including a boulder sitting right on the Essex/Deep River town line! There’s also a raised platform for viewing the lower Connecticut River, its surrounding landscape, and its many birds and wildlife. Find out more about this family-friendly trail system here: www.cttrailfinder.com/trails/trail/canfield-woods.
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Photo (CT Trail Finder): a large tulip tree with several long horizontal branches standing among younger trees with green leaves. Text reads, “An easy-to-advanced 8-mile trail system through old and new growth forest, featuring geologic features and a viewing platform.” ... See MoreSee Less

We’re pleased to feature an exciting new partnership this #FriendFriday! On CT Trail Finder, Quiet Corner New England Mountain Bike Association (QCNEMBA) helped publish Pomfret Forest, an extensive multi-use trail system directly off the Air Line State Park Trail in Pomfret, that they have designed with mountain bikers in mind. Many thanks to Christian Smutnick, QCNEMBA Vice President, for speaking with me about their recent work building, maintaining, and connecting folks to trails in the northeast corner of CT.

QCNEMBA shares our goal of increasing trail accessibility – such as with our interactive trail maps open for anyone to access from a web browser. They often map their own trails, which helped streamline CT Trail Finder map preparation. They are also interested in connections between trails and local businesses through tourism, tying in with our trailside services. QCNEMBA is active with unique programs, such as Wednesday Women’s rides (pictured here), and Gear Locker, in which used mountain bikes are donated, quality-assessed, and lent to new riders to help reduce initial cost barriers.

Pomfret Forest (www.cttrailfinder.com/trails/trail/pomfret-forest) is a victory for QCNEMBA, and an awesome addition to CT Trail Finder – go check it out! ... See MoreSee Less