Tag: East Coast Greenway

Hugging the Connecticut shoreline while biking from New Haven to Stamford

I loved biking through the Connecticut shore towns.

What a gloriously sunny day! I loved this first part of the East Coast Greenway, with the Long Island Sound never from from view. You don’t want to know how many times we stopped for photos (and food) between New Haven and Milford.

And then there were the elegant mansions in ritzy Fairfield and Westport neighborhoods that put those along the Greenway route in Ponte Vedra Beach to shame.

But the route wasn’t all simple.

Continue reading “Hugging the Connecticut shoreline while biking from New Haven to Stamford”

Biking from Hartford to New Haven, Connecticut, on the East Coast Greenway

First we had to get over a hill — or mountain.

This 59-mile ride from Hartford to New Haven let me once again enjoy those fabulous five-star Farmington trails, some parts of which weren’t even under construction when we discovered them five years ago.

But first we had to get over the hill. Or rather, Talcott Mountain.

Continue reading “Biking from Hartford to New Haven, Connecticut, on the East Coast Greenway”

The East Coast Greenway between Hartford and Bolton, Conn.

I’m determined to finish biking the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway. This is the first of four days that should do it.

This section of the East Coast Greenway has changed considerably since the Week-A-Year ride came through in 2012 and even when we visited the area four years later. Two trails — the Hop River Trail and Charter Oak Greenway — are now linked with both fresh asphalt and new bridges, attracting more users than ever. I know groups that would be envious of the sign on that red bridge!

I’m on a quest to bike the entire 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway, and this section marked the start of my final piece. To do it, we biked 18 miles from Hartford to Bolton Notch State Park (the end point of a 2016 ride on the crushed-stone Hop River Trail) and then 18 miles back.

If you have a choice, east to west is easier.

Continue reading “The East Coast Greenway between Hartford and Bolton, Conn.”

Two ways to bike from Princeton to Philadelphia — which is better?

Both have great sections — and messy parts too.

Philadelphia from the Ben Franklin Bridge

I shocked a few of my neighbors when I said I was biking to Philadelphia this past weekend. It takes an hour to drive using I-95 so it seems crazy far to bike … and besides, how would you go?

Continue reading “Two ways to bike from Princeton to Philadelphia — which is better?”

An updated list of 7 great bike-trail overnights within easy reach of New Jersey

These bike overnights are all trail or mostly trails. Trips range from one night to closer to a week.

I started this list with 5 favorite DIY bike overnights using trails or mostly trails and (important for me) easily reached from New Jersey. Now it’s 2025, and my list has grown to 7.

More trails are coming, so biking within a day’s drive of New Jersey will only get better.

Continue reading “An updated list of 7 great bike-trail overnights within easy reach of New Jersey”

This updated Connecticut trail map makes my 2021 ride list

The traffic-free route from East Hartford to Willimantic on the Charter Oak Greenway and Hope River Trail.

Happy biking, all!

Take a look at this just-updated map of Connecticut’s Charter Oak and Hop River trails.

You can ride traffic-free from East Hartford all the way to Willimantic — just wow! (OK, it looks like there might the tiniest section on the road.) That’s about 26.2 miles, or the length of a marathon for my runner friends.

Continue reading “This updated Connecticut trail map makes my 2021 ride list”

Four Seasons (Total Landscaping) to Four Seasons (Hotel) — a Philadelphia bike ride

The “Fraud Street Run” is a great opportunity to check out some Philadelphia trails.

Guess which was friendlier?

Should anyone be surprised that someone came up with the crazy inspiration of a route between these two Philadelphia news-making sites in this crazy election month?

Continue reading “Four Seasons (Total Landscaping) to Four Seasons (Hotel) — a Philadelphia bike ride”

How to bike from Trenton to Camden, New Jersey

It’s not as daunting as you might think.

New trail along the Delaware River.

Biking to Philadelphia on the New Jersey side has long intrigued me, especially after having ridden to Philly on the Pennsylvania side. So when a group a sister has started riding with announced a ride from Trenton to Camden and then over the Ben Franklin Bridge to Philadelphia, I was all in (well, at least to Camden.)

Continue reading “How to bike from Trenton to Camden, New Jersey”

Day 3 of a Connecticut-Rhode Island adventure along the East Coast Greenway

A day of more biking on roads than trails .. but there are big plans afoot in this part of eastern Connecticut.

Along the Moosup Valley Trail

Day 3 of our Connecticut-Rhode Island adventure was closing the gap between Day 1 and Day 2 — biking from the campground close to the Rhode Island line to Putnam, Connecticut, along the East Coast Greenway route.

This stretch was more road than trail, and a good lesson that you don’t have to bike on the route you’d drive.

Continue reading “Day 3 of a Connecticut-Rhode Island adventure along the East Coast Greenway”

Rhode Island’s 5-star Washington Secondary Trail: Car-free from near Connecticut to the outskirts of Providence

Cycling the East Coast Greenway: Thumbs up for the Washington Secondary Trail — and take this short detour to the homestead of one of George Washington’s right-hand men.

This is Day 2 of my effort to almost finish biking the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway from Maine to Florida. The plan had been to bike all of the missing stretch — from Providence to New York City — with friends over the better part of a week in August.

Then COVID. Now the plan is for just two of us to ride just part of it and use a campsite as a base. This day’s goal: Providence, Rhode Island.

Continue reading “Rhode Island’s 5-star Washington Secondary Trail: Car-free from near Connecticut to the outskirts of Providence”