Conference noted::bicycle

3136.0. "The Norwottock Rail Trail, Northampton - Amherst, MA" by PCBUOA::aki1005.ako.dec.com::rehberg () Mon Aug 19 1996 16:42

The Norwottock Rail Trail connects Northampton and Amherst, MA.

I thought there was a note about it in here but after searching I could not 
find it.  Anyway I thought a brief report to be in order.

I rode part of this trail on Sunday with my wife.  It is a very pleasant 
trail running through farm country much of the way.  We started at the West 
end.  Going North on I91 we took the second Northampton exit and it was 
right there!  The trail immediately crosses the Connecticut river and the 
crossing is very nice using boards set at a diagonal to form the surface 
within the former railroad bridge.  The route has shade most of the way 
with trees and shrubs growing on either side with some vistas now and then.

We saw what I conjecture to be a cross country ski club/team in training on 
roller-ski's.  They were skiing and polling along.  Of course we saw plenty 
of rollerbladers and quite a few bikers.  We averaged around 10 mph and did 
not pass many people going in our direction nor did we get passed much.  I 
guess that the average speed of cyclists was a little faster and that of 
the rollerbladers was similar or a little slower.  

The paving is in good shape but it is more than a little disconcerting in 
that it is made in good part out of recycled glass!  It took more than a 
couple of miles to begin to relax riding on the stuff.  The trail itself is 
quite flat and the crossings are well marked with very little traffic at 
the crossings.

The rules are posted as well as the hours.  There was a note that said 
commuters using the trail outside of normal hours travel at their own risk.

There was even a trailside picnic bench near a general purpose restaurant 
whose sign indicated food, etc. as well as air, tools, and so on!

All in all it was just what my wife was looking for.  It is really 
gratifying to see that something like this is doing so well!  It is pretty 
heavily used and was able to accomodate the use very nicely!

Rick

    
    Rick,
    	How long is the trail??? It sounds really nice. 
    
    Patty

The trail is a little over 8 miles long.

It is a very nice trail!  My wife especially
liked the fact that it was basically flat since 
her knee has been bothering her.  Riding around
Northboro, MA is inevitably hilly and this was
just what she was looking for.  We had a good time!

Rick

    Depending on what you what to do, it is usually better parking on the
    Amherst side of the trail on the weekends.  Normallly the Northampton
    side is swamped with cars.  If you don't want to ride the whole trail,
    you can park at the Hampshire Mall in South Hadley along Rt. 9.  I
    believe it is about 2 miles from the Amherst end, and there is always
    enough parking (trail runs in the woodline behind the mall).  "Pete's"
    (?) hamburger stand is a nice stop along the trail - I believe this is
    the place Rick was referring to...
    
    If you are in the Northampton area and like mountain biking, there are
    a lot of good rides.  Amethyst Brook in Amherst; Mt. Tom in
    Northampton/Easthampton; and the Metacomet Trail (from Holyoke range to
    McClean reservoir in Westfield/Holyoke) are all fun rides with plenty
    of singletrack...