Routes & Trail Guides

Biking from New Haven to Northampton on the New Haven & Northampton Canal Greenway

The 80+ mile NHNCG route from New Haven to Northampton is paved (with around 81% of it off-road as of Nov 2024) and follows the 200 year old canal towpath, the old railroad route, or other paved paths. Until the entire trail is complete and no gaps remain, traversing the missing 19% necessitates on-road travel.

Below, listed south to north, are the competed sections and the on-road gaps with approximate mileage:

1. (On-Road - 1.5 miles) In New Haven from The Boathouse on Long Wharf Dr to Hillhouse Ave is on-road. For a suggested route see the East Coast Greenway map https://map.greenway.org/?loc=10,41.54764,-72.79266&route=41.76399,-72.67233

2. (Completed - 24 miles) Hillhouse Ave in New Haven to Aircraft Rd in Southington.

3. (On-Road - 5 miles) Aircraft Rd in Southington to Northwest Dr in Plainville is on-road and signed for the East Coast Greenway  which is the same route as the NHNCG in this section.  See the suggested route on CT Trail finder map cttrailfinder.com/trails/trail/farmington-canal-heritage-trail  and the East Coast Greenway map https://map.greenway.org/?loc=9,41.76312,-72.67181&route=41.76399,-72.67233

4. (Completed - 34 miles) Northwest Dr in Plainville to the Westfield River in Westfield MA. See the route on CT Trail finder map cttrailfinder.com/trails/trail/farmington-canal-heritage-trail 

5. (On-Road - 12 miles) - From the Westfield River in Westfield the connection is on-road until Coleman Rd in Southampton. A detailed route is shown in a section below.

6.  (Completed - 7 miles) From Coleman Rd in Southampton into downtown Northampton (7 miles). The northern end of the NHNCG in Northampton connects to many other trails. For maps see https://fntrails.org/trail-information/trail-maps/

Notes about biking on the NHNCG:

• In Connecticut you will be on the "Farmington Canal Heritage Trail".  A portion of which is part of the East Coast Greenway. In MA you will be on the "Southwick Rail Trail", then on the "Columbia Greenway Rail Trail", then on the "Manhan Rail Trail". You will not be on the "Southampton Greenway" as this hasn't been built.

• The trail in New Haven is just above sea level, and rises very gradually until Avon CT, then it drops very gradually to the Westfield River, where it then rises gradually into Northampton. The slope of the trail is trivial when choosing the direction of travel.

• The trail generally follows a north-south orientation with limited shade around high-noon.

• There are many places along the trail to buy food, however these tend to be clustered leaving long stretches without services.

• There is no official camping that is easily reached from the trail. There are some hotels. For no-cost overnight accommodations check out Warmshowers.

• In the summer the wind is usually light from the south, however a cold front may bring a crisp clear day with a strong wind from the north.

• It's possible to take an Amtrak train between New Haven and Northampton and bring your bike onboard, however there are restrictions so investigate thoroughly. If a train is part of your round trip, it might be best to start with the train ride to avoid risking an issue on the return trip.

• The Northampton area has many bikeable trails and a full day can be spent biking them.

• A video of a bike ride that gives a general overview of the trail is at   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxIdvT6t5GA

For more about the New Haven & Northampton Canal Greenway see NHNCG.ORG

Question/comments? info@nhncg.org and include "Biking from New Haven to Northampton" in the subject line.

New Haven & Northampton Canal Greenway  –  Massachusetts on-road section  

The on-road route shown here is a suggestion based on bikers' preferences and is not an indication of absolute suitability or safety. 

These directions, modified from Google Maps, go from Women's Temperance Park in Westfield to the start of the Manhan Rail Trail at the Easthampton-Southampton line  —  11.6 miles  —  Mostly flat  —  Includes 0.5 miles of unpaved but bikeable road. Note that there are no services between downtown Westfield and the first mile of the Manhan Rail Trail (approx 13 miles).

Use caution – bicycling directions may not always reflect real-world conditions. 

Women's Temperance Park    2010 Elm St, Westfield, MA 01085

Head east to sidewalk on N Elm St / Rt 10/202 (it may still be Elm St). Don't cross N Elm

30 ft  Turn left onto the sidewalk and walk your bike on the sidewalk

364 ft  Turn left onto Pochassic St, walk you bike up sidewalk along the north side of the bridge

397 ft  At the traffic circle, take the 1st exit onto Montgomery St

2.3 mi  Turn right onto Russellville Rd

1.9 mi  Turn right onto North Rd

0.6 mi  Turn left onto Root Rd

0.6 mi  Root Rd becomes Brickyard Rd

1.8 mi  Turn left onto Massachusetts Rt 10 North (major road, no street sign)

164 ft  Turn right at the junction of Moose Brook Rd and Brickyard Ext and continue onto Brickyard Ext (no street sign). Brickyard Ext is mostly unpaved, with the roughest part near Rt 10

0.7 mi  Turn left onto Strong Rd

0.4 mi  Turn right onto East St

0.4 mi  Turn left onto Pleasant St

1.6 mi  Turn left onto Gunn Rd

0.1 mi  Turn right onto Coleman Rd

0.8 mi  Turn right onto the Manhan Rail Trail near 15 Coleman Rd,  Southampton, MA 01073

The Google map shown below can be found at this link  https://dub.sh/western-route-2 Note that street addresses are approximate and used to create the map and sometimes Google recreates a different route, especially when the map page is refreshed. The route, plotted on Ride With GPS with a slightly different beginning, is at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48966229