Any good offroad bike trails?

Submitted by [deleted] t3_z7z2s1 in Connecticut

Im just getting into gravel biking and Im looking for paths that are in the woods/offroad? Im in Fairfield County but willing to travel. Anyone have any good suggestions on trails?

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Chainring85 t1_iy8vtxz wrote

There’s the Airline Trail in East Hampton, but that’s a bit of a hike from FFC.

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Motor_Finding_2647 t1_iyai0tl wrote

I second this area. There's miles of mountain biking trails off the main body in the state forest as well.

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Whydoyouhatefreedom t1_iy8w6xd wrote

The Airline trail is the longest stretch of gravel that I know of in the state. Starts in East Hampton and goes to Mass. there’s also tons of mixed asphalt and gravel north of you in the Kent/Cornwall area along the Houssy

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NLCmanure t1_iya6zg7 wrote

I think one can pick up the Airline Trail in Portland now.

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AbjectHemisphere t1_iycltj6 wrote

Big asterisk there, the short Portland extension is NOT CONNECTED to the main airline trail, there is wetlands splitting it and the funding to fix that was cut

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NLCmanure t1_iyeqvdu wrote

thanks for that correction. I knew they were working on it but wasn't sure if it was completed. I guess some day it will.

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grmcnasty t1_iy9i4ba wrote

Check www.trailforks.com for your area. Tons of great trails around the state, including in our many awesome state parks and state forests.

This site should have a ton of info on difficulty and trail conditions, as well as if it's bike-only or multi use.

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bikergirl2712 t1_iy9upqp wrote

Norbrook brewery has dedicated, groomed biking trails on their property that's open to the public. They own something like 400 acres and allow public riding on their trails, that are rated green, blue and black. They are some of the best trails in the state and you can grab a fresh beer when you're done riding!

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Last-Instruction739 t1_iy8xw3v wrote

Huntington Park in Redding is good.

Also recommend Mountain Lakes Park in North Salem NY.

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gravel-wagon t1_iy9mp8y wrote

Gravelmap is a pretty handy resource for stitching together gravel roads in CT: https://gravelmap.com/#8.69/41.5885/-73.0269

Like a bunch of other folks said, the Airline Trail is fantastic. It intersects with the Hop River trail in Willimantic as well. In that same region, there's also some fantastically hilly dirt roads that run through the Meshomasic State Forest. Some pretty sick 10% grade roller coaster stuff in there, I absolutely love it.

It's possible to stitch Airline, Hop River, and The Mesh together to create a pretty huge and unforgettable gravel loop. You can also check out the maps on Trailforks, you'll notice that there's a whole bunch of singletrack MTB trails that intersect the rail trails. So there's plenty of opportunity to get rowdy and underbike it on a 650B wheel set too.

You should also plan on checking out next year's Nutmeg Nor'easter event. The photos speak for themselves: https://theradavist.com/6th-annual-nutmeg-noreaster-an-alternative-new-england-experience/

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DungareeManSkedaddle t1_iy8y0eo wrote

Roosevelt Forest in Stratford

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Sonakstyle t1_iy9bw1u wrote

There is biking there?

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DungareeManSkedaddle t1_iy9wai5 wrote

Sure. It’s about 5 miles if you hit all the trails.

Edit: there’s only a very short gravel run from parking lot to Boy Scout lean-tos, but 5 miles of regular trails. To me they are easy, but it’s not like a rail trail so YMMV.

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puppies2323 t1_iy96geq wrote

west hartford reservoir has some

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[deleted] OP t1_iy9k875 wrote

Thanks everyone!

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gatogrande t1_iy9roum wrote

I see gravel guys in the Meshomasic all the time...don't know how those things survive. The "gravel" trails out west are groomed AF

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[deleted] OP t1_iy9thbf wrote

Why the gravel bikes not tough enough?

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activehobbies t1_iy9chd2 wrote

Look up the CT 'Rails to Trails' route. It's not difficult, but it's nice to watch the scenery pass by while you ride.

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