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Mass Central Rail Trail

Old 10-18-16, 09:00 AM
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Mass Central Rail Trail

I think I plotted a solid 10 mile stretch on good quality unpaved contiguous trailbed from Rutland, MA to Barre, MA. this section looks very pretty with lots of water nearby. the trail crosses a few rds & I wrote down what addresses I could find to help locate parking with help of google maps, satellite & street views. I don't know how safe the car would be in these parking areas but they look legit. the biggest parking area seems to be 21 Miles Rd Rutland, MA but there is more trail to the east. OH! & it's mostly downhill?

from east to west
- 157 Wachusett St Rutland MA (parking) this is about 30 miles from me
- 101 Glenwood Rd Rutland MA (parking) and may be a better starting point (trail eastward is questionable but fun?)
- 21 Miles Rd Rutland (parking for 10 cars?)
- overpass near 72 Pommogussett Rd Rutland
- overpass near 51 Charnock Hill Rd Rutland
- Rutland State Forest?
- Whitehall Rd Oakham MA (dirt rd at one crossing)
- RT 122 (aka Worcester Rd) Oakham MA (will have to lift bike over guard rail after crossing rd)
- Coldbrook Rd Barre MA
- 1010 Worcester Rd Barre MA, there's also a business at 1069 Worcester Rd Barre MA
& it looks like a nice paved auto turn-out for parking? on Rt 122 (Worcester Rd)
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Old 10-27-16, 09:34 AM
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157 Wachusett and 101 Glenwood both look like decent spots to park
So I see that Google is sending you west on Wachusett and then north on Glenwood at the beginning, but the following satellite & street views show me that there is indeed a trail there, though it's unmarked on both Google and Openstreetmap:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/15...191597!5m1!1e3
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3973...1!2i37!5m1!1e3
OpenStreetMap (missing link)

Perhaps it is overgrown?

When I look at the lot at 21 Miles St., I get inconsistent results: Google says it's actually at 49 Miles St. Openstreetmap says that is Mill Brook st.


It looks like you can make a connection to the Ware River Rail Trail as well

Code:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4658716,-71.9543467,12z/data=!5m1!1e3
If you ever make it out there, take some notes/GPS tracks!

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Old 10-27-16, 09:56 AM
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Originally Posted by autonomy
Perhaps it is overgrown? If you ever make it out there, take some notes/GPS tracks!
yeah I like adventure - never know what you'll hit. might have to back track and start again in a different spot. try 49 miles rd
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Old 10-28-16, 12:39 PM
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just found this video on youtube
Fat tire snowbiking on "Mass Central Rail Trail" Rutland to Barre (6 miles in 3 hrs) but not sure if they turned around and went back the same way I think they used 2 cars and just rode 1 way

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Old 10-31-16, 06:27 PM
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10-30-16 temps in the low 60s got in 19.5 miles. did some exploring west from the parking area near 157 Wachusett St Rutland but it was rough & very quickly became impassable due to fallen trees. moved the car to approx 101 Glenwood Rd Rutland & tried my luck east (heading toward where I was forced to stop). this way started very well but then narrowed to where I was surrounded by water & the trail under my feet got soggy. I walked as far as I could (glad to have my rubbers on) & saw the trail became impassable & looked completely flooded perhaps due to all the beaver activity. but I got lucky & I think I found a chunk of 100+ yr old coal from an old locomotive's tender?!

headed back west & made it to Barre. really high quality trail perfect for regular hybrids. I would even bring Wifey. I did see a pair of 29ers too. mostly I saw walkers, lots with dogs. I guess this stretch is about 9 miles. I did pass the Miles Rd parking area. however it required a quick roll down the road 2/10 mile to find it. there were no signs where the trail hit Miles Rd. near Moulton Mill Rd. I got lucky & guessed correctly to go right. there must have been an issue with a land owner right-of-way that forced the diversion onto the road?

in Barre the trail ended in the woods but they extended the crushed stone trail down a hill & along the river to the very large White Valley parking area. across the street was a restaurant. I took a left on RT 122 for approx 1/2 mile & found a picnic area w parking w grills & a big fire pit on the water (at Powder Mill Pond approx 1019 Route 122 aka 1107-905 Worcester Rd)

with all the starting, stopping, bushwhacking, archaeological exploration, backtracking, picture taking & moving the car, I was in the area for 4 hours.

lovely fall day tho & I would do this trail again. a touch of snow would be really pretty

this guy found some coal too "During a recent excursion with the kids to hunt for railroad spikes in Bowie, we came across a man collecting coal along the side of the tracks. The coal fell out of rail cars, and the man said that he was collecting it for a "friend" who burns it in a wood stove during the winter for heat. I'm not sure if he was just being frugal or if he fell on hard times.

Picking up coal along railroad tracks was a common practice during the
Great Depression Great Depression
. The following is a copy of a public service poster from the 1930s discouraging parents from letting their kids pick coal along the tracks." https://bowieliving.blogspot.com/2010...reek-line.html

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Old 10-31-16, 06:47 PM
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don't know wutz up w photobucket

looks like they made a recent improvement to this RT 122 road crossing. you no longer have to lift your bike over the guard rail

there are no flashing lights to warn oncoming traffic but lots of signs & also these cool rumble strips, 3 in each direction. hearing the cars tires roll over them you can gauge their speed & how soon they will be at the crossing

this is at the end in Barre on Powder Mill Pond on RT 122

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Old 10-31-16, 06:57 PM
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this is the Miles Rd parking area looking at it from the trail. up that road on the left side (out of sight) is the trail again just after Moulton Mill Rd

like I said, high quality trail perfect for biking

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Old 10-31-16, 07:05 PM
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now if I was a trappin' man, I'd have a belt of pelts, I figure

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Old 11-01-16, 03:56 AM
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Originally Posted by autonomy
I see that Google is sending you west on Wachusett and then north on Glenwood at the beginning, but the following satellite & street views show me that there is indeed a trail there, though it's unmarked on both Google and Openstreetmap:

Perhaps it is overgrown?

It looks like you can make a connection to the Ware River Rail Trail as well
100% correct on both counts!
- I did indeed see signs for the Ware River "Watershed" & later saw from a map that the trail starts on the other side of RT 122
- the overgrown section was pretty fun to explore especially from the Glenwood lot BUT you can clearly see the trail using the satellite view. here's my best guess how far I made it from both directions on the closed section
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0000 closed section.jpg (95.3 KB, 294 views)

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Old 11-01-16, 04:09 AM
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Originally Posted by autonomy

Code:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4658716,-71.9543467,12z/data=!5m1!1e3
this link is AWESOME btw! thanks!
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Old 11-23-16, 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
this link is AWESOME btw! thanks!
You're welcome! Thanks for posting all those pics, they're great. Such New England-y scenery. I'll have to check this one out when the temps go up again (and I'm sure they will soon)
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Old 11-23-16, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by autonomy
I'll have to check this one out
yup good flat one, with other ppl so you never feel creeped out alone in the woods
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Old 02-14-17, 01:50 PM
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Originally Posted by autonomy
You're welcome! Thanks for posting all those pics, they're great. Such New England-y scenery. I'll have to check this one out when the temps go up again (and I'm sure they will soon)
gonna be 50 Sunday tho it might be a slush party w all the recent snow
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Old 03-26-17, 05:20 PM
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38-40 degrees. not quite ready for prime time. too much endless soft, icy, snow pack remains. was lucky that someone had snowmobiled here leaving a compacted center path. but it had softened today. it was barely hard enough to carry my weight. very often my tires dug into it, creating slow going especially uphill. ideal bike this day would have been a wider mountain bike, or better yet a fatbike, studs optional. felt a bit of desperation when it started to sleet







found a decent spot at a cross road to snack & turnaround


this looks like hard ice but it wasn't




the dirt patches were RARE


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Old 04-28-17, 02:38 PM
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News about the Mass Central Rail Trail which will intersect with the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in Sudbury.

To advance rail trail, DCR endorses Sudbury-Hudson power line - News - MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA - Framingham, MA
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Old 10-28-17, 07:10 AM
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think I'll try this trail again while we still have sunshine. Wifey bailed to go visit her Mom in CT. too bad, she'd like this one

EDIT: Wifey missed a good day



lots of couples were out together



no ice falls today!



no wind, gotta be one of the best fall riding days


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Old 10-30-17, 01:34 PM
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before I left my house I was trying to figure out of it was time to wear orange, to avoid being shot accidentally by sportsmen & women. I decided against. on the return leg there were 2 ppl dressed in "blaze orange" vests. at 1st I thought they were hunters, but as I got closer I could see it was just a cpl out for a walk on the trail. was that overly cautious of them?

just read a story about a woman shot dead by a hunter in some woods in Maine the same day. hmmm ... guess it's time

Authorities Say Woman Killed by Hunter Wasn't Hunting - NECN
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Old 10-06-18, 07:26 PM
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was gonna go further from home on a rougher trail but w only 1 day off a week I like to sleep in sometimes. so out of desperation decided to go here. started in Rutland as have the past few times. but next time I have to remember it's mostly down grade to Barre, so it might be more fun to have the down grade heading back to my car. but it doesn't matter really cuz the grade back up isn't bad at all & the ride is so short. colors are turning, not peak & not the brightest of days. some really interesting branch trails in Barre including some seemingly parallel roads




next time use GPS to start here (at Powder Mill Pond approx 1019 Route 122 aka 1107-905 Worcester Rd) or a little further down the road at the legit paved parking area



then down the road cross the bridge to get up to the trail












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