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◂︎ Mandy & Lexi's Massachusetts Adventures
Southbridge
Westville Lake
Recreation Area
Date visited: 12/31/2021
Westville Lake Recreation Area is owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers. They constructed the dam on site in the early 1960's. The dam is located on the Quinebaug River, and protects the towns of Southbridge and Sturbridge from flooding. The lake sits on the border of the two towns. On the Southbridge side, the loop trail follows the Westville Lake Trail. On the Sturbridge side, the Grand Trunk Trail. The Grand Trunk trail is a rail trail following the path of the Southern New England Railway, which was never completed. The easy to walk loop runs about two miles total. Pictures below are from the Southbridge side. See the Sturbridge page for the pictures from that side.
Quinebaug River Valley Rail Trail
Date visited: 2/19/2023
This is a four mile rail trail through the towns of Southbridge and Dudley. Since we have to walk in both directions, I could only do half the trail, so I decided to head North from the West Dudley trailhead. The trail quickly heads into Southbridge once it passes the reservoir. This section is very "blah". The surface changes a few times. Part of it is small stones, and I have to imagine that would be rough for a bike. The wooden planks from the old railway line are still present on part of the trail. I also saw a lot of litter in this section. There were also some large trees that fell over the the trail. One looks like it has been recently cleared with a chainsaw, but the other one we had to climb over. Visit the Dudley page to read about that section.
