The Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) is a partially completed rail trail between Northampton, Massachusetts and Boston along the right-of-way (ROW) of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad and former Central Massachusetts Railroad. It currently has open, and are open or protected for trail development. When complete, it will be long through Central Massachusetts and Greater Boston, forming the longest developing rail trail in Massachusetts. Many sections of the trail, including the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Somerville Community Path, have been developed as separate projects but serve as part of the complete Mass Central Rail Trail. The Mass Central Rail Trail Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the build and operation of the MCRT, maintains an interactive map of the MCRT and other Massachusetts trails.
Trail sections
Northampton and Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail
The trail is fully complete and paved through Northampton, Hadley, Amherst, and a short section in Belchertown.
The Mass Central Rail Trail's western terminus is at Northampton Union Station, maintained by the City of Northampton. It continues parallel with the Connecticut River Line, an example of rails with trails, to Woodmont Road. Next, the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail runs from downtown Northampton through Hadley and Amherst going into Belchertown; it is a state park maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The connection from Northampton to Hadley is made by the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge, a , 8 span, steel lattice truss bridge first built over the Connecticut River in 1887. The trail was built in 1993, first known as the Norwottuck Rail Trail, and was one of the last US formal paved bikeways at wide; in 2015 the trail was widened to in line with newer MassDOT guidance for minimum shared use path width.
Norwottuck connecting trails All rail trails in Northampton, including the MCRT, are considered to be a part of the Northampton Rail Trail System. Except for the Norwottuck Branch of the MCRT, Northampton maintains the Northampton Rail Trail System. The Friends of Northampton Trails, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the city's trails and greenways, does not name individual rail trails in the city. The section of the Northampton Rail Trail System west of downtown, towards Look Park and Williamsburg, is sometimes known as the Francis P. Ryan Bikeway. It was formerly the New Haven & Northampton Company Williamsburg Branch Railroad, not part of the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and is not included in the tally. The section of the Northampton Rail Trail System towards the Easthampton border is the northernmost section of the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway, which continues in Easthampton as the Manhan Rail Trail. The entire Mass Central Rail Trail is a part of the greater New England Rail-Trail Network, which also continues south with the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway. Along the Norwottuck Branch MCRT, the Arthur R. Swift Amherst/UMass Bike Connector connects to UMass Amherst, and the New England National Scenic Trail crosses the eastern terminus.
Belchertown Greenway
The rail ROW heads roughly southeast through Belchertown. Most sections are unimproved, but cleared, and protected and used by pedestrians and snowmobiles.
From Warren Wright Road in Belchertown to Lake Arcadia, the rail ROW is privately owned and has been largely obliterated by development, except a short segment in Holland Glen Conservation Area. From Lake Arcadia to past Federal Street, the ROW is owned by the Town for trail development. From Bay Road to State Street, the Town owned segment is under development for the MCRT with a grant and under MassDOT. From State Street at Piper Farm Conservation Area to Franklin Street/Route 181, the ROW or adjacent Piper Farm is owned by the Town for trail development. In 2026, a MassTrails Grant was awarded for design and permitting a segment from Austin Gaughan Memorial Field to Maple Street.
There is a timber trestle bridge over Jabish Brook in the section midway between North Washington Street and Franklin Street/Route 181. A report by the Friends of the Belchertown Greenway was commissioned as a first step before rehabilitation of the bridge. In 2025, MassTrails awarded a grant for reconstruction of Jabish Brook bridge. From Route 181 to the Chickadee Trail, just before the Swift River and the Palmer Town line, the rail ROW is privately owned and not accessible to the public.
Multiple segments of the ROW from Station Road in Amherst to after North Washington Street in Belchertown run parallel with the New England Central Railroad, an example of rails with trails.
See also .
Belchertown connecting trails The New England National Scenic Trail crosses the proposed western terminus of the Belchertown Greenway. Additionally, there is a short on-road connection from the MCRT at Route 181 to the Chickadee Trail, with the southern terminus at Depot Street, a hiking trail following the rail ROW of the former Boston and Albany Railroad Athol Branch, roughly following the Swift River north.
Quabbin Valley and East Quabbin Land Trust
From the Belchertown border in Palmer, the rail ROW continues roughly southeast until reaching the Ware River, then continues through the Quabbin Valley to New Braintree and Barre roughly following the Ware River northeast. All improved sections are a hard packed stone dust surface suitable for bikes and walkers.
In Palmer, the bridge over the Swift River was demolished after rail service was discontinued, and there is no river crossing available. The rail ROW starting in Bondsville, Palmer is unused and overgrown but still owned by Massachusetts Central Railroad (MCER), the current shortline railroad, not the former railroad of the same name. Old rails and ties are still in place, as is the bridge over the Ware River. In 2025, MassTrails awarded a grant for a Palmer MCRT feasibility study exploring 2 potential alignments.
Continuing into Ware, the rail ROW is still in use by MCER. The bridge over the Ware River is missing, making the ROW between the river and the Gibbs Crossing shopping plaza unusable.
Three sections are open in Ware. From Gibbs Crossing to Robbins Road, a section is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail: Gibbs Crossing. This section was opened in 2023 and is owned and maintained by the Town of Ware. Past Robbins Road to the upper Ware River crossing, two river bridges are missing and the MCER rail yard on the east side of the river is still active, blocking the trail ROW. Instead, after a road detour, a paved section shared with Grenville Park is open.
From Grenville Park, the town of Ware built an accessible connector trail, the Grenville Park Connector Trail to MCRT, that was opened in September 2026. Past Frohloff Farm, through Upper Church Street, almost to the Ware–Hardwick Covered Bridge, a section is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail: Ware. The East Quabbin Land Trust (EQLT), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, purchased Frohloff Farm in 2018 and completed an expansion in 2022. The remaining section to the covered bridge is unimproved and not open to the public.
A section through the village of Gilbertville, Hardwick is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail: Ware River Park. It is owned by the Town of Hardwick, running from just after the covered bridge to the Saint Aloysius Cemetery. A portion of this section was known as the Gilbertville Fitness Trail, built in 2014. In 2022, the Town was awarded $133,000 in state funds to improve the section to MCRT standards, and it opened in 2023. The rail ROW paralleling Route 32 from Gilbertville to Creamery Road is no longer intact and has been lost to development and private ownership. In addition, the bridge over the active rail ROW is missing. This stretch is not open to public use.
From Creamery Road in Hardwick, through a lattice truss bridge over the Ware river to New Braintree, and through a pony truss bridge over the Ware river to Maple Street in Wheelwright, Hardwick, a section is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail: New Braintree and Hardwick. It is owned and maintained by the East Quabbin Land Trust, has a hard packed gravel surface, and is open to all non-motorized use. In 2005 this rail ROW was listed for sale, and the Central Highlands Conservancy LLC was established in 2005. It purchased the land, giving the East Quabbin Land Trust two years to run a capital campaign to purchase the land at cost. This preserved the trail section, including three historic bridges that would otherwise would have been scrapped. The two largest bridges with steel superstructures received a 2023 MassTrails grant to replace the timber decking. From Maple Street, over the Ware river, into New Braintree again, the trail ROW is obstructed by a missing bridge. A 2026 MassTrails grant was awarded for design and permitting of a new bridge.
After the bridge in design, a compacted stone dust section is in design by EQLT. From McEvoy Road to Station Road, a mile section is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail: New Braintree to Barre Plains. In 2024, the former Tanner-Hiller Airport was purchased by the EQLT, for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game. This was intended to create the Menameset Habitat, a wildlife bird sanctuary. Additionally, the purchase made development of these MCRT sections possible, through the property and over the former railroad ROW. In 2025, a MassTrails grant was awarded for construction of Phase 1 of the MCRT. This Phase 1 MCRT construction was completed in September 2026.
Wachusett Greenways
Wachusett Greenways has completed about of the planned of the MCRT through the towns of Barre to Sterling, including eight bridges. All of the improved sections are a hard packed stone dust surface suitable for bikes or walkers, which helped accelerate construction dates forward compared to paving. The first section of trail opened in 1997 in West Boylston.
From the New Braintree Town line to Barre Depot Road, the ROW in Barre is either obstructed by private development (south of Route 67) or part of an active section of the MCER (north of Route 67). East of Barre Depot Road, the rail ROW is obliterated by development. The trail departs the Ware River in Barre as it continues east to Boston.
An section from Barre, though Oakham, to Glenwood Road in Rutland, is complete and open. It includes the Charnock Tunnel installed in 2006, the Pommogussett Tunnel installed in 2011, the White Valley Bridge over the Ware River installed in 2013, and a culvert after Miles Road installed in 2024. It also includes the Charnock Cut, which the railroad cut through significant rock ledge, now forming the highest point of the MCRT. Work on the Charnock cut began in 1872 for the Massachusetts Central Railroad, where it was estimated 60,000 yards of fill required removal. The Panic of 1873 halted work on the Mass Central Railroad, and when work began again in 1880, it was estimated 12,000 cubic yards of rock would be removed with steam drills.. This section includes a on-road route on Miles Road in Rutland. The section between Glenwood Road and Wachusett Street is a privately owned section of the ROW, and not currently open to the public.
A section continues from Wachusett Street in Muschopauge, Rutland to the Holden Town line, however the final are unimproved. These trail sections are owned by the DCR and maintained by Wachusett Greenways. From the Rutland/Holden Town line to Princeton Street, after the Providence and Worcester Railroad, the rail ROW is privately owned and lost to development. An on-road route is being used to fill the gap.