Connecticut Explorer: Trail Biking The Pequonnock Valley Greenway

Scenery along the Trumbull Rail Trail

The Housatonic Railroad Trail is a paved bike and pedestrian trail which is the defining feature of an ambitious civic plan called The Pequonnock Valley Greenway. When complete, the greenway and trail will extend from Newfield Harbor at the heart of Bridgeport through Trumbull & Monroe to Newtown.

Currently this trail consists of disconnected legs individually identified. The Berkshire Rail Spur Trail is an 8 foot wide paved trail extending from the Bridgeport Multimodal Station to Post Road alongside Housatonic Avenue.

The Primary leg of the trail is paved in some places and crushed stone in others. This is the Pequonnock Valley-Housatonic Rail Trail that navigates 9 miles of wooded park land in Trumbull from Tait Road to Maple Drive.

The final stretch of the trail begins 2 blocks down Maple Dr. in Monroe and is named The Monroe-Housatonic Railroad Trail. My very first post on this blog was focused on this last bit of trail between Monroe and Newtown. Today, I will focus on the section in Trumbull.

Contents:
Description
Overview and Statistics
Trail Map and Directions
Photos
Video
Links
Related Posts

So many working railroads crisscross Connecticut that it is hard to imagine that some lines lost favor to such a degree that they could be torn up and turned into recreational trails. Even more miraculous is that communities like Trumbull and Monroe were able to stitch together a network of parklands and open spaces long enough to create a "greenway" through the heart of Fairfield County where property values are among the highest in the nation.

A square acre of park is always welcome - to break up the restless noise of urbanity - but a greenway is much more valuable. Even when the parklands that make up a greenway narrow to twenty feet they provide for more valuable outdoor activity than a ball field which sits empty and unused 98% of its life. The ability to connect neighborhoods to commercial districts, to connect people to nature, and neighbors to each other - that is what a bike trail provides.

On this Saturday morning in April the trail was busy with groups and couples walking and chatting. The smallest children took in the sights from their carriages; while the more brave and curious were running wild in the forest alongside the picturesque Pequonnock River. A high school track and field team trained along the path - running stride outs back and forth on the trail.

Greenways are accessible, immediately available, and foster unstructured play and unexpected encounters. A community with a well made greenway is a community that is succeeding.

The Pequonnock Greenway is much more than a bike path. First of all, it has a bike path, and a good one at that. It is wide and paved - easy and flat - with well made bridges. But, by embracing the concept of "greenway" it is a series of parks which each have their own identity and tell their own story.

The Old Mine Park is the best place to park your car if you are traveling in from out of town. The Old Mine of course has its own history - being the site of quartz and tungsten mine. Parlor Rock Park provides postcard worthy scenic views of The Pequonnock - and was formerly the site of an amusement park used to boost traffic on the Housatonic Rail Line.

Soon, Beardsley Park in Bridgeport will be a defining feature of The Greenway. These parks provide their own hiking trails which cross the main bike path. They also offer opportunities for mountain biking, fishing, birding, and picnicking.

Trees Downed by Hurricane Sandy - along The Trumbull Rail Trail

My first ride on The Trumbull portion of this trail occurred a few days after Superstorm Sandy struck the area. I was still without power at home, and unable to go to work. After three days of sitting in a dark apartment I was ready to stretch out. A friend of mine suggested The Pequonnock trail through Trumbull, and despite some difficulty navigating downed trees we were able to have a decent bike ride. And, we were not the only hardy bikers and walkers out that late Autumn afternoon.

There were numerous patrons of the trail including one fireman from Bridgeport who we stopped to talk with - he rides the full length of the trail from Bridgeport to Newtown each day as exercise - 500 year storm be damned! This was all the testimony I needed to realize how treasured this trail is by its communities.

On that ride and following my ride on the trail this Spring (2013) I had lunch at The Easton Town Store at 430 Sport Hill Road in Easton CT across from the fire department. It is good old general store that sells gas from a single pump when they have gas to sell. Their sandwich board is extensive - hot and cold sandwiches and burgers and fries. Cash only of course.

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Community Fire Pit in Parlor Rock Park Trumbull CT

Pequonnock Greenway Bike Trail

COUNTY: Fairfield
COMMUNITIES: Bridgeport, Trumbull, Monroe, Newport

TOTAL MILES: 19.7 miles linear
DIFFICULTY: Very Easy
PAVEMENT: Asphalt, Crushed Stone

POINTS OF INTEREST: Seaside Park, Blackrock Light, Riverfront Park, Glenwood Park, Beardsley Park, Beardsley Zoo, Unity Park, Twin Brooks Park, Pequonnock River Valley State Park, Indian Ledge Park, Parlor Rock Park, Old Mine Park, Great Hollow Lake Park,

Directions and Trail Map

Click Map Image to load the full interactive map.

Or Click here to open Interactive Map in Google Maps App.

Public Parking:
Whitney Road: N41.28054,W073.222788
Tait Road: N41.246906,W073.199963
Broadway Road HWY25 Park and Ride: N41.287002,W073.234877