Length:             Gardner Street West to Tolland Turnpike; 8 1/4 miles

                            Charter Oak Park to Letterbox; 5 miles

                            Tolland Turnpike to Letterbox; 2 ½ miles

                            Silver Lane parking lot to Letterbox; ½ mile

Difficulty:         Moderate. Paved path, but very hilly.

To start at Charter Oak Park: Take exit 3 off of I-384 in Manchester and go north on Route 83 (Main Street). Take a right onto Charter Oak Street and then another right into the Park. 

To start at Silver Lane: Take the Silver Lane exit off of I-84 or exit 1 off of I-384. Both exits bring you to Silver Lane and the Manchester/East Hartford line. A parking area is located next to the Crossroads Community Cathedral. The bike path runs parallel. 

To start at Tolland Turnpike: Traveling southeast on I-291, Take the exit for Tolland Turnpike. At the end of the ramp, turn left. You’ll see the head of the bike path on your right. Take a left and park along Chapel Road. From I-84 eastbound, take exit 62 to Buckland Street and take a right. Take another right onto Tolland Turnpike, pass by the massive JC Penny warehouse until you see the I-291 underpass. Trail starts on your left, turn right and park along Chapel Road. From I-84 westbound, take exit 62 and veer to the right when it forks. At the intersection, (Buckland Plaza will be straight ahead), go right to Buckland Street and take another right. Proceed to Tolland Turnpike and go right. SEE ABOVE.

The Charter Oak Greenway is part of the East Coast Greenway. There are ECG signs posted all along the trail as well as painted on the trail. For more information See;  EAST COAST GREENWAY .

At Charter Oak Park, the bike trail is located at the end of the paved path that runs alongside the tennis courts and a brick building. When you come to the east-west trail, look down to your right and spot a cement marker. This gives you the miles to Maine and Florida, the endpoints of the East Coast Greenway. If you head left (east) along the trail, you'll travel along a small brook and over a couple of bridges before the trail ends after only 3/4 miles at Gardner Street West. Heading right (west) along the trail takes you around Charter Oak Park and out to Charter Oak Street. Turn left and then left again at Main Street (Route 83) and proceed over I-384. The trail then turns left to circle underneath the overpass and runs west alongside the highway. One mile brings you to the first of two hills that bring you to the top of the overpasses, instead of traveling under them. A map board describes the East Coast Greenway after you cross over Prospect Street. At the top of the second overpass, you turn right on Keeney Street and cross back over the highway. When you come to Hartford Road, turn left at the cross-light and you'll pick up the paved trail again a mile 2. The bike trail parallels Hartford Road for 0.4 miles and then ends. The next section goes on-road for 0.6 miles, utilizing a narrow sidewalk or a fairly wide bike lane along Hartford Road, before turning left onto Bidwell Street and traveling underneath the highway where the paved trail picks up again on your right at mile 3. This is one of the entrances to Manchester Community College. Keep to the right when the trail splits and head up a steep hill. You’ll travel alongside the highway for a bit before coming to the athletic fields and a parking lot. Its worth a quick detour up to your left to check out the college buildings. As you pass by the baseball field a trail on your right acts as a shortcut. However, I prefer continuing straight, as this takes you through a Pine tree forest that is very cool in the summer. After passing by the other end of the short cut you'll come back alongside I-384. At 4 3/4 miles you’ll come to Silver Lane. A cross-light takes you over and past the church parking lot on your left and continues straight ahead. After about a ½ mile from Silver Lane, you’ll come to a turn in the trail. If you continued straight, you would come out on Forbes Street in East Hartford after a mile or you could take a side trail up to Veterans Memorial Park at just a 1/2 mile. A right through the tunnel takes you towards Tolland Turnpike. You’ll see a sign at this juncture that points towards Veterans Memorial Park and Forbes Street. Facing the sign, look to your right at about 1 o’clock. You should see a tree with about 7 branches emerging from its trunk. Behind the tree under some wood is the Charter Oak Greenway Letterbox. If you wish to continue your journey, follow the trail through the tunnel. You ride along side the Hockanum River for a bit. At the intersection of Route 44, you cross over and continue straight. 

Note; If you turned left, the trail would bring you to Wickham Park (a nice side trip). Visit; WICKHAM PARK for more information. 

You climb up a steep grade to emerge alongside I-291. On your left will be a pair of granite benches with a granite marker in between. Your legs will appreciate the twin benches at this point. The bike path continues for another half mile down to Tolland Turnpike. To extend your trip, or, for a future trip, the trail continues by crossing the road. This section is on-road for about 4 miles, using Chapel Road. Mostly residential. You’ll cross both Routes 30 and 5, until the road stops at Main Street (residential). Take a left and go about a half mile to the I-291 underpass. The bike path starts again on the right and runs alongside the highway and over the Connecticut River on the Bissell Bridge. You then travel down to the banks of the river at Windsor Meadows State Park, in Windsor. The plan for the future is to have the bike path continue down towards Hartford to Riverside Park and hook up with the Riverfront Trail. See; RIVERFRONT TRAIL LETTERBOX  .