North Central Pathway Rail Trail, MA
• 4-star trail
• 10 miles each way
• Easy | Low gradient
• Winchendon-Gardner, MA | Central Region
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Riding out of Winchendon past Whitney Pond.
Nestling up to the New Hampshire state border the small Central Massachusetts town of Winchendon was once a railroad hub with five distinct rail routes radiating from its center. Today there's no evidence of this downtown, but thankfully some of these routes live on as rail trails.
The mostly asphalt paved North Central Pathway Rail Trail wins our prize for sporting the most generic trail name that we've found to date. This trail treats users to a journey that passes large ponds, scenic wetlands and woodlands. Though most trail users seem to stick to just one, there are three distinct sections to this route and they can all be linked together to make a total length just short of ten miles. You can also continue even further, tracing the old lines through Gardner until they connect up with the live East-West rail lines south of the town.
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⬤ AllTrails · GPX File · Directions GPX? |
The northernmost 2.8 mile segment of trail heading south out of Winchendon is perhaps the most scenic and varied. Large dilapidated buildings on the banks of Tannery Pond stand as reminders of an industrial history. Heading southeast and close to the unfortunately rather busy Route 12 highway the views are great - first of Whitney Pond, and then of the meandering Miller River wetlands. The trail terminates unceremoniously at North Ashburnham Road as the old alignment continues onto private property, but a 0.8 mile segment of mostly quiet road biking can link you up to the next segment of North Central Parkway.
The middle segment heads due South for 3.3 miles and mostly passes through woodland, with a large clearing close to the mid-point. The asphalt trail makes for an easy journey, particularly for cyclists, and terminates at the busy Route 140.
Fall colors on Whitney Pond near Winchendon.
Woodland section, heading for the town of Gardner.
The southern segment of the North Central Pathway is a gated service road that is partly hardpacked ground, but with sections of loose large aggregate gravel that leads us to categorize the trail condition as rough. This section continues through woodland and heading for the town of Gardner. After reaching a second electricity substation the old rail route becomes impassible, but you we recommend continuing on via the roads of the neighboring cemetery to reach the shores of Crystal Lake. Here it seems the dead have the best views in town.
The south end of the trail comes to a halt at Park Street by a large parking and picnic area. Out of curiosity we traced the continuing route of the rail alignment all the way down to where it connects with live railroad lines. On the way we found occasional track and signage in town, followed by complete and inaccessible track that weaves through an industrial area.
⚠ Trail Conditions: 6 miles of asphalt, plus 2 miles hardpack at the south with some loose gravel. Winchendon section is flat. Some mild gradients along the rest of the trail.
Giant bike by Glenallen Street, with our bike for scale.
Signs of railroad remain in downtown Gardner.
Hiking the nearby Perley Brook Reservoir.
Tangents:
• TrailLink: North Central Pathway
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article
Rail Trails of New England
The first and only complete rail trail map. With photos, reviews and downloads.
The first and only complete rail trail map. With photos, reviews and downloads.
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