Length:                         Farmington Canal Rail Trail; 14.5 miles completed.

                                        Detour to New Haven Harbor; 2 miles

                                        Long Wharf Park Trail; 1 mile                                             

                                        Sherman Ave parking lot to Letterbox; 1/4 mile

Difficulty:                     Easy. Flat, paved rail trail.

In 1828, the Farmington Canal opened for excursion boats to take passengers from New Haven to as far as Northampton, Massachusetts. The canal was 86 miles long, 4 feet deep and 36 feet wide. Twenty-eight locks were built in Connecticut to accommodate a 292 foot total drop in elevation along the canal. The canal was never profitable and so by 1848 railroad tracks were being laid along the old canal route. The Boston & Maine Railroad used this section into the 1980’s until service was discontinued. This trail is part of the East-Coast Greenway, a linear trail system designed to someday stretch from Maine to Florida (check out EAST COAST GREENWAY ). I have another Letterbox on the Southington section of this trail; See Farmington Canal Rail Trail North Letterbox.

In Cheshire, this section of the trail is called the Farmington Canal Linear Park. The old canal runs alongside the trail, although some sections are dried up and other sections have been lost. A stone dust jogging path runs next to the paved trail and rollerblading is very popular. All along the trail are wooden or iron benches and bridges, split rail fences and a lot of bird houses. There are also trail map boxes along the way. Parking spots are located at various locations along the trail as well. The Cheshire and Hamden Parks and Recreation Departments should have maps and information on the trail system. After 1.3/4 miles, you will come to the Lock 12 Park. This historical park includes two restored locks, a museum, a lockkeepers house and a pavilion with picnic tables out back. The canal flows through a beautiful stone arched bridge with black iron railings, that is part of the trail. Continuing onward, you reach the Hamden section of the trail just shy of 3 miles. This section is called the New Haven & Northampton Railroad: The Canal Line. The signage is very impressive all along the trail system. Not much further along the trail you’ll see a turnoff for Brooksvale Recreation Park on your right. Just before you’ve hit 5 1/2 miles, the rock faced cliffs of Sleeping Giant State Park will come into view on your left. You then hit Route 10 (Whitney Ave.) next to the road entrance to the park. There is a nice deli here if you should need replenishment. You’ll ride through a rock cut and hit a straight stretch with Route 10 below you. About halfway through the straight stretch will be an orange sign on a post for the fiber optic cable line. From this sign post take a compass reading of 136 degrees. You’ll see two large rocks together. Between them is the Farmington Canal Rail Trail Letterbox.  This is about the 6 mile mark. If you continue onward down the trail you’ll see the old Mount Carmel Train Station on your left. About a 1/4 mile from the Letterbox is the Sherman Ave Parking Lot on your right. The trail travels away from Route 10 and through the backyards of Hamden neighborhoods. You cross back over Route 10 and you'll come alongside the Wilbur Cross Pkwy. The trail then heads up and crosses over Skiff St where it travels behind a retail plaza. After 10.2 miles you'll pass an access trail down to Connolly Parkway and Hamden High School before crossing an old railroad bridge over Connolly Pkwy. The trail then travels underneath the Wilbur Cross Pkwy and behind the Home Depot plaza. Another access trail, this time to Treadwell St, at 11.3 miles. An iron arched bridge takes you over Putnam Ave, followed by several more street crossings before you come to the Hamden/New Haven town line at 12.7 miles. As of June 2009, the next 0.6 miles of trail is currently under construction.

Note; To continue, you'll need to detour around this section on-road. Backtrack to Goodrich St and turn right (east). Take to Shelton Ave and turn right (south). The trail picks up again at Starr St between the two large brick pillars that New Haven utilizes at all street crossings. You'll pass by the Science Center, an old dilapidated area of buildings along your right before crossing Munson St at 13.8 miles. Note the fenced-in wildflower fields on your right. The trail travels alongside Canal St and after crossing Webster St you enter the campus of Yale University. There are blue "Emergency Phones" located along this section. You start to enter the "sunken rail trail" section with some massive retaining walls along your right.

Note; A section of this retaining wall is currently being repaired and thus closed as of June 2009.

The trail then travels under Prospect St and past the massive glass Malone Engineering Center, which is part of Yale. This brings you to an access trail up to Hillhouse Ave at 14.5 miles and the currant end of the trail. The "sunken rail trail" continues below grade and underneath Temple St through a long tunnel into downtown. Plans call for utilizing this corridor into town and exiting near the Audubon Arts District, although I'm not sure of the exact plans. 

Note; You may extend your trip into downtown and out to the New Haven Harbor and Long Wharf Park where this trail will eventually take you. This 2 mile detour is partly on-road (sidewalks available) and partly utilizes a completed section of this trail. Head up the access trail to Hillhouse Ave and turn right. This takes you through a beautiful section of Yale full of old historic buildings. Take a left on Grove St and then a left along Whitney Ave. Keep an eye to your right and you'll spot the "sunken rail trail" as it travels below grade between two buildings before coming to Audubon St. Plenty of places to grab a bite to eat here. Hang a right down Audubon St, a brick lined walkway and you'll come to the Audubon Arts District. Continue out to State St and cross over to the wide sidewalk. Head right, travelling alongside the RR tracks. When you reach Wall St on the opposite side of the street, you can see where the "sunken rail trail" would have merged with the currant RR line. However, it appears they have filled in the old tunnel at the end of Wall St. You'll pass by the Metro-North's State Street Station and come to Chapel St. Hang a left and cross over the RR tracks. Take a right along Olive St and cross over Water St via a cross-light. A narrow paved trail takes you down to Brewery St where you turn right and travel underneath Oak Street Connector along another paved trail. A cross-light brings you over to a completed section of the linking trail. The trail is separated between bikes and pedestrians by a brick lined strip down the middle. It heads left along Sargent Dr and brings you to the big blue IKEA building. A cross-light will take you over Sargent Dr and underneath I-95 via Canal Dock Rd. Another cross-light will take you over Long Wharf Dr to the New Haven Harbor after 2 miles. 

Note; You may continue your journey through Long Wharf Park by following the sidewalk right, alongside Long Wharf Dr. This will bring you to Long Wharf Pier, where the Freedom Schooner Amistad is sometimes berthed. You can head out to the end of the pier where you'll get good views of the New Haven Harbor & Terminal as well as the monument atop East Rock Park to the north. Continue along the sidewalk and you'll come to the Visitors Center and paved trail at Long Wharf Park. The paved trail winds through this narrow park along the harbor which contains some benches, a few Porto-potty's and not much else. The trail ends at the Vietnam War Veteran Memorial Monument after 3/4's of a mile. However, you can continue along a stone-dust trail through Long Wharf Nature Preserve that will bring you to the Blvd Pump Station and Bayview Park at 1 mile.