Connecticut
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
New York
Other States
Latest Adventures
About Mandy & Lexi
Beach Guide
FAQ
◂︎ Mandy & Lexi's Massachusetts Adventures
Hadley
Norwottuck Rail
Trail
Dates visited: 9/21/2021, 9/26/2023, 11/18/2023 & 11/23/2023
See Also: Northampton, MA, Hadley, MA, Amherst, MA
This multi use trail is part of Mass Central Rail Trail, which boasts to be the longest rail trail in the Northeast, running from Northampton to Boston. Like the New Haven/Northampton Canal Trail, there are gaps. The trail starts at the intersection of the Manhan Rail Trail and the Northampton Bikeway. I have no plans to try to complete the whole thing! We walked a short section of the trail in Hadley, from the bridge to Cross Path and back.
It would take just over two years, but we made it back to walk another section of this trail in Hadley. It had rained in the area for three days straight, so we came here since the paved trail was dry. This time we started at the parking area behind the Mountain Farms shopping center, and headed a mile east to the Amherst town line, where we continued for another mile before turning around and heading back. We walked over four miles on this trip. This section of the trail was quite busy, with many joggers and bikers from nearby U-Mass utilizing the trail. We also checked out a side trail that leads to an ice cream shop near a silo, but this trail was wet and muddy so we didn't go all the way to the silo.
More Images
For this trip, like our last visit to this trail, we started at the Mountain Farms shopping center, but this time we headed west. We walked a two and a half mile stretch out to West Street Commons, before turning around and heading back. The main feature on this section is the tunnel underneath Route 9. This section was closed over the summer due to construction on the road, but has since re-opened. There's a picture we took in front of the tunnel where the year "2026" is etched into the cement, indicating the year it was built. It's possible we may have passed through a time portal on this walk! Oddly enough, the other side of the tunnel said 1992. Once past Route 9, the trail passes a nice Christmas Tree farm, as well as "The Quarters", a gaming bar and restaurant. This section of trail was perfectly flat, and fairly busy with bike traffic and joggers, but oddly enough we didn't pass any people walking their dogs.
More Images
This is the section from where we left off at West Street Commons last time, to the bridge over the Connecticut River. This section runs between Route 9 to the south, and some farm land to the north. It was Thanksgiving morning and there was a good deal of pedestrian traffic on the trail. We actually started on the other side of the bridge in Northampton, where we also completed the trail in that town as well.
More Images
Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area
Date visited: 9/21/2022
By sheer coincidence, we wound up in Hadley exactly a year later from our last visit. This time, we visited the Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area trail. The trail follows the Connecticut River and is built up on a flood dike. It runs about a mile, (two miles out and back) with the river on one side, and farm land on the other. There is no shade, so I definitely wouldn't recommend this trail in the middle of summer. It was the last full day of summer when we visited, and the temps were in the lower 70's. There was actually a lot going on here. As you can see in the first couple of pictures below, there was a hot air balloon landing somewhere on the other side of the river. Not pictured is the U-Mass rowing team and the people jet skiing in the river, as well as the hang glider off in the distance. All the activity kept the walk interesting!
