Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

Rail trail in Massachusetts, United States

Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Adams in 2021

Length| 14.05 miles (22.61 km)[1]
Location| Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Established| 2001 (2001)
Designation| Massachusetts state park
Trailheads| Adams (42°38′22″N 73°06′40″W﻿ / ﻿42.63955°N 73.11105°W﻿ / 42.63955; -73.11105)
Pittsfield (42°27′45″N 73°12′27″W﻿ / ﻿42.46237°N 73.20755°W﻿ / 42.46237; -73.20755)
Use| Hiking, biking
Difficulty| Easy
Sights| Berkshire Pond, Cheshire Reservoir, Hoosic River, Mount Greylock
Surface| Paved
Maintained by| Department of Conservation and Recreation
Website| Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is a 14.05-mile (22.61 km) rail trail that runs north-south through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams, and into the city of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is a multi-use trail for biking, walking, roller-blading, and jogging. The trail is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).[2] It was built on the former Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad.

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail passes through the Hoosac River Valley, between Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Mountains. Cheshire Reservoir, the Hoosic River, and associated wetland communities flank much of the trail. The word Ashuwillticook is from the American Indian name for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means "at the in-between pleasant river," or in common tongue, "the pleasant river in between the hills."[3]

## History

[edit]

The trail next to the former Adams station

In 1845, the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad developed this corridor with the goal of extending the Housatonic Railroad north to Rutland, Vermont. While the track was under construction, the company was acquired by the Western Railroad, which later became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A), as their North Adams Branch. Mineral traffic developed on the line and a number of limestone operations went into business. The New York Central Railroad took over the B&A in 1900, and upgraded the line, which was sold to the Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) in 1981. As a connection to an existing track in North Adams, the B&M operated the line until 1990.[3]

The first two phases of the trail opened in 2001 and 2004, with a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) northerly extension added in 2017.[4] A 1.5 miles (2.4 km) extension south to Crane Avenue in Pittsfield opened in the spring of 2022.[5] Another 0.5-mile (0.8 km) segment south to Merrill Road opened in 2024 at a cost of $2.3 million.[1]

The state intends to extend the trail north and west to Williamstown for a total length of 25 miles (40 km), with additional potential extension south to the Housatonic village of Great Barrington.[6][7] These extensions are expected to have higher costs than the existing path, which already covers the full disused length of the rail line. A 2.4-mile (3.9 km) northern extension to Hodges Cross Road in North Adams is planned to begin construction in 2028.[6] In January 2025, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission was awarded a $17.3 million federal grant to fund design of the remaining 9.3 miles (15.0 km) to Williamstown.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "City of Pittsfield announces opening of Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Merrill Road extension" (Press release). City of Pittsfield. November 7, 2024.
2. ^ "Ashuwillticook Rail Trail". Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
3. ^ a b "Ashuwillticook Rail Trail". Department of Conservation and Recreation. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
4. ^ "Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Section Open, Trail Now 12.2 Miles" (Press release). Massachusette Department of Transportation. May 23, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
5. ^ Ben Garver (September 29, 2021). "Ashuwillticook Rail Trail construction". Berkshire Eagle.
6. ^ a b Spinella, Sten. "Rail trail extension into Pittsfield part of much larger plan for 25 miles of bike and multi-use paths". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025.
7. ^ Kaufman, Jane (June 3, 2023). "new interactive map shows Ashuwillticook Rail Trail at the center of a future bike path through Berkshire County". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023.
8. ^ Phillips, Amy (January 10, 2025). "Berkshire bike trail project awarded $17.3M infrastructure grant". WWLP. Retrieved January 12, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Ashuwillticook Rail Trail at Wikimedia Commons

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

| National Historical Parks|

* Adams
* Blackstone River Valley
* Boston
* Lowell
* Minute Man
* New Bedford Whaling

|

National Historic Sites|

* Boston African American
* Frederick Law Olmsted
* John Fitzgerald Kennedy
* Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters
* Salem Maritime
* Saugus Iron Works
* Springfield Armory

Other National Park Service units|

* Appalachian National Scenic Trail
* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
* Cape Cod National Seashore

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Assabet River
* Great Meadows
* Mashpee
* Massasoit
* Monomoy
* Nantucket
* Nomans Land
* Oxbow
* Parker River
* Silvio O. Conte
* Thacher Island

Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Assabet
* Concord
* Sudbury
* Taunton
* Westfield

Other protected areas|

* Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
* Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
* West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

| Parks|

* Alewife Brook
* Ames Nowell
* Ashland
* Bash Bish Falls
* Blackstone River and Canal Heritage
* Borderland
* Boston Harbor Islands
* Bradley Palmer
* C. M. Gardner
* Callahan
* Castle Island State Park
* Chicopee Memorial
* City Square
* Clarksburg
* Cochituate
* Connecticut River Greenway
* Demarest Lloyd
* Dighton Rock
* Dunn
* Ellisville Harbor
* Fall River Heritage
* Gardner Heritage
* Governor Thomas Dudley
* Great Brook Farm
* Greycourt
* Halibut Point
* Hampton Ponds
* Holyoke Heritage
* Hopkinton
* Lake Lorraine
* Lake Wyola
* Lawrence Heritage
* Lowell Heritage
* Lynn Heritage
* Massasoit
* Maudslay
* Moore
* Mount Holyoke Range
* Natural Bridge
* Nickerson
* Pearl Hill
* Pilgrim
* Quinsigamond
* Robinson
* Roxbury Heritage
* Rutland
* Skinner
* South Cape Beach
* Wahconah Falls
* Webb Memorial
* Wells
* Western Gateway Heritage
* Whitehall
* Wompatuck

|

Reservations|

* Beaver Brook
* Belle Isle Marsh
* Blue Hills
* Breakheart
* Charles River
* Chestnut Hill
* Cutler
* Dorchester Shores
* Elm Bank
* Fort Phoenix
* Hammond Pond
* Hemlock Gorge
* Horseneck Beach
* Jug End
* Lynn Shore
* Middlesex Fells
* Mount Everett
* Mount Greylock
* Mount Sugarloaf
* Mount Tom
* Myles Standish
* Mystic River
* Nahant Beach
* Nantasket Beach
* Nasketucket Bay
* Neponset River
* Pope John Paul II
* Purgatory Chasm
* Quincy Quarries
* Quincy Shore
* Revere Beach
* Rumney Marsh
* Salisbury Beach
* Sandy Point
* Scusset Beach
* Stony Brook
* Upper Charles River
* Wachusett Mountain
* Walden Pond
* West Island
* Weymouth
* Wilson Mountain

Other|

* Appalachian Trail
* Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
* Cape Cod Rail Trail
* Fort Revere
* Lake Dennison Recreation Area
* Lower Neponset River Trail
* Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside
* Nashua River Rail Trail
* Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail
* Quabbin Reservoir
* Southwest Corridor Park
* Squantum Point Park
* Streeter Point Recreation Area
* Sudbury Reservoir
* Wachusett Reservoir
* Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

* Barnstable
* Beartown
* Berkley
* Billerica
* Brimfield
* Chester-Blandford
* DAR
* Douglas
* Erving
* F. Gilbert Hills
* Federated Women's Club
* Franklin
* Freetown-Fall River
* Georgetown-Rowley
* Gilbert A. Bliss
* Granville
* Harold Parker
* Kenneth Dubuque Memorial
* Leominster
* Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro
* Manuel F. Correllus
* Mohawk Trail
* Monroe
* Mount Grace
* Mount Washington
* Myles Standish
* October Mountain
* Otter River
* Pittsfield
* Sandisfield
* Savoy Mountain
* Shawme-Crowell
* South River
* Spencer
* Tolland
* Upton
* Warren H. Manning
* Wendell
* Willard Brook
* Willowdale
* Windsor

Wildlife management areas

| Wildlife
management areas|

* Agawam Lake
* Agawam Mill Pond
* Ashby
* Ashfield Hawley
* Attitash
* Ayer Game Farm
* Baddacook Pond
* Bakers Pond
* Bay Circuit Trail
* Bearse Pond
* Becket
* Bennett
* Birch Hill
* Black Brook
* Blackstone / West River
* Bolton Flats
* Boxboro Station
* Brayton Point Salt Marsh
* Breakneck Brook
* Brewer Brook
* Bullock Ledge
* Burrage Pond
* Canoe River
* Catamount
* Chalet
* Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh
* Childs River
* Chockalog Swamp
* Church Homestead
* Clapps Pond
* Clinton Bluff
* Concord River
* Connecticut River
* Cook Pond
* Copicut
* Coy Hill
* Crane Pond
* Cummington
* Cusky Pond
* Dartmoor Farm
* Darwin Scott Memorial
* Day Mountain
* Deerfield River
* Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal
* Dolomite Ledges
* Dunstable Brook
* E. Kent Swift
* Eagle Island
* East Mountain
* Eastham Salt Marsh
* Elbow Meadow
* English Salt Marsh
* Eugene D. Moran
* Facing Rock
* Fairfield Brook
* Farmington River
* Fish Brook
* Fisherville Pond
* Fisk Forestdale Lot
* Fisk Meadows
* Five Mile River
* Flagg Swamp
* Flint Pond
* Four Chimneys
* Fox Den
* Fox Island Salt Marsh
* Frances A. Crane
* George L. Darey Housatonic Valley
* Glen Echo Lake
* Gosnold
* Grassy Pond (Dennis)
* Grassy Pond (Plymouth)
* Green River Access (Franklin County)
* Green River (Berkshire County)
* Greenfield River
* Halfway Pond
* Hamilton
* Hancock
* Harlow / Cooks Pond
* Haskell Swamp
* Hauk Swamp
* Hawksnest State Park
* Hawley
* Head Of The Plains
* Herman Covey
* High Ridge
* Hinsdale Flats
* Hiram H. Fox
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hog Pond Lot
* Honey Pot
* Hoosatonic River
* Hoosic River
* Hop Brook
* Housatonic River
* Hubbard Brook
* Hunting Hills
* Hyannis Ponds
* Ipswich River
* John J. Kelly
* Joint Base Cape Cod
* Jug End
* Jug End Fen
* Kampoosa Fen
* Katama Plains
* Knops Pond
* Konkapot River
* Lackey Pond
* Lake Lorraine
* Lake Rohunta
* Lake Snipatuit
* Lake Warner
* Lanesboro
* Lawrence Brook
* Lawrence Pond Lot
* Leadmine
* Leyden
* Lilly Pond
* Little Alum Pond
* Long Sought For Pond
* Maple Hill
* Maple Springs
* Martha Deering
* Martin H. Burns
* Mascuppic Lake
* Mashpee Pine Barrens
* Mashpee Pond Lot
* Mashpee River
* Mckinstry Brook
* Meetinghouse Swamp
* Merrill Pond
* Miacomet Heath
* Mill Brook Bogs
* Mill River
* Millers River
* Mine Brook
* Montague
* Montague Plains
* Moose Brook Access
* Moose Brook
* Moose Hill
* Mossy Pond
* Mount Watatic Reservation
* Mt. Esther
* Mt. Toby Highlands
* Mt. Toby
* Mt. Tom
* Muddy Brook
* Muddy Pond
* Mulpus Brook
* Nashua River
* Natty Brook
* Nemasket River
* Nissitissit River
* Noquochoke
* Nordeen Marsh
* North Brookfield
* North Shore Salt Marsh
* Northboro
* Oakham
* Olivers Pond
* Orange
* Otis
* Packard Pond
* Palmer
* Pantry Brook
* Pauchaug Brook
* Peru
* Peterson Swamp
* Phillipston
* Podunk Marsh
* Poland Brook
* Popple Camp
* Popponesset Spit
* Poutwater Pond
* Powell Brook
* Prince River
* Provincetown Route 6 Corridor
* Purchade Brook
* Quaboag
* Quacumquasit
* Quag Pond Bog
* Quashnet River
* Quashnet Woods State Reservation
* Quinapoxet River
* Quinsigamond Marsh
* Quisset
* Raccoon Hill
* Rainbow Beach
* Red Brook
* Richardson
* Robbins Pond
* Rochester
* Rocky Gutter
* Rowe
* Salisbury Salt Marsh
* Salisbury Salt Marsh WMA
* Sandwich Game Farm
* Sandy Pond
* Satan's Kingdom
* Savage Hill
* Savoy
* Sawmill River
* Scorton Creek Coastal
* SE Mass Bioreserve
* Sevenmile River
* Shattuck Brook
* Sheperds Island
* Shubael Pond
* Sibley Brook
* Sly Pond
* South Barrier Beach
* South Meadow Pond
* South Shore Salt Marsh
* South Triangle Pond
* Southampton
* Southwick
* Spectacle Pond
* Springhill Lot
* Sputtermill Pond
* Squannacook River
* Stafford Hill
* Sudbury River
* Sunderland Islands
* Taconic Mountain
* Taunton River Access
* Taunton River
* Tekoa Mountain
* Thad Ellis
* Thayer Pond
* Three Mile Pond
* Townsend
* Townsend Hill
* Trapfall Brook
* Triangle Pond
* Tully Brook
* Tully Mountain
* Tully River
* Wakeby Pond
* Wales
* Walnut Hill
* Ware River
* Warwick
* Wendell
* West Meadows
* Westboro
* Westfield River
* Westfield
* Weymouth Back River
* Whately Great Swamp
* Whately Ponds
* Whately
* Wilbraham Game Farm
* William Forward
* Williams River
* Williamsburg
* Winimusset
* Wolf Swamp

|

Wildlife
sanctuaries|

* Billingsgate Island
* Carr Island
* E. Howe Forbush
* Egg Rock
* Grace A. Robson
* J.C. Phillips
* Knight
* Penikese Island
* Ram Island (Mattapoisett)
* Ram Island (Salisbury)
* Susan B. Minns
* Tarpaulin Cove
* Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

* Black Pond Bog
* Boat Meadow
* Francis Newhall Woods
* Grassy Pond
* Greene Swamp
* Halfway Pond Island
* Hawley Bog
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hoft Farm
* Homer-Watcha
* Katama Plains
* McElwain-Olsen
* Miacomet Moors
* Reed Brook
* Roger and Virginia Drury
* Sandy Neck
* David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail
* Stacy Mountain
* Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

* Governor Oliver Ames Estate
* Appleton Farms
* Ashintully Gardens
* Bartholomew's Cobble
* Bear Swamp
* Bear's Den
* Boston Community Gardens
* The Brickyard
* Bullitt
* Chestnut Hill Farm
* Colonel John Ashley House
* Dunes' Edge Campground
* Francis William Bird Park
* Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
* Bridge Island Meadows
* Brooks Woodland
* William Cullen Bryant Homestead
* Cape Poge
* Cedariver
* Castle Hill
* Chapel Brook
* Charles River Peninsula
* Chase Woodlands
* Chesterfield Gorge
* Coolidge
* Copicut Woods
* Cormier Woods
* Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge
* Crane Beach
* Crane Wildlife Refuge
* Crowninshield Island
* Dexter Drumlin
* Dinosaur Footprints
* Doane's Falls
* Doyle
* Dry Hill
* East Over
* Elliott Laurel
* Farandnear
* FARM Institute
* Field Farm
* Fruitlands Museum
* Fork Factory Brook
* Glendale Falls
* Goose Pond
* Greenwood Farm
* Hales Brook and Sippican River
* Halibut Point
* Hamlin
* Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens
* Holmes
* Governor Hutchinson's Field
* Jacobs Hill
* Little Tom Mountain
* Land of Providence
* Leatherbee Woods
* Long Hill
* Long Point
* Lowell Holly
* Lyman
* Malcolm
* Mashpee River
* McLennan
* Medfield Meadow Lots
* Medfield Rhododendrons
* Menemsha Hills and The Brickyard
* Misery Islands
* Mission House
* The Monoliths
* Monument Mountain
* Moose Hill Farm
* Moraine Farm
* Mount Ann
* Mount Warner
* Mountain Meadow
* Mytoi
* Naumkeag
* Noanet Woodlands
* Noon Hill and Shattuck
* Norris
* North Common Meadow
* Norton Point Beach
* Notchview
* Old Manse
* Old Town Hill
* Peaked Mountain
* Pegan Hill
* Peters
* Petticoat Hill
* Pierce
* Pine and Hemlock Knoll
* Powisset Farm
* Questing
* Quinebaug Woods
* Ravenswood Park
* Redemption Rock
* Rock House
* Rocky Narrows
* Rocky Woods
* Royalston Falls
* Shattuck
* Signal Hill
* Slocum's River
* Stavros
* Stevens-Coolidge
* Swift River
* Tantiusques
* Tully Lake Campground
* Two Mile Farm
* Tyringham Cobble
* Ward
* Wasque
* Weir Hill
* Weir River Farm
* Westport Town Farm
* Whitney and Thayer Woods
* World's End

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

* Allens Pond
* Arcadia
* Ashumet Holly
* Attleboro Springs
* Barnstable Great Marsh
* Blue Hills Trailside Museum
* Boston Nature Center
* Broad Meadow Brook
* Broadmoor
* Burncoat Pond
* Canoe Meadows
* Daniel Webster
* Drumlin Farm
* Eagle Lake
* Eastern Point
* Endicott
* Felix Neck
* Flat Rock
* Graves Farm
* Great Neck
* Habitat
* High Ledges
* Ipswich River
* Joppa Flats
* Kettle Island
* Lake Wampanoag
* Laughing Brook
* Lime Kiln Farm
* Lincoln Woods
* Long Pasture
* Lynes Woods
* Marblehead Neck
* Moose Hill
* Museum of American Bird Art
* Nahant Thicket
* Nashoba Brook
* North Hill Marsh
* North River
* Oak Knoll
* Pierpont Meadow
* Pleasant Valley
* Poor Farm Hill
* Richardson Brook
* Road's End
* Rough Meadows
* Rutland Brook
* Sampsons Island
* Sesachacha Heathlands
* Skunknett River
* Stony Brook
* Wachusett Meadow
* Waseeka
* Wellfleet Bay
* Wildwood Camp

Other

* Concord Land Conservation Trust
* Harvard Forest
* Lincoln Land Conservation Trust
* Lloyd Center for the Environment
* Lynn Woods Reservation
* Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
* Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

* Category
* Boston
* Emerald Necklace
* Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
* Commons

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template