Air Line State Park Trail
A crushed-stone rail trail crosses eastern Connecticut on dramatic fills, cuts, wetlands, and bridges once engineered for a fast New York–Boston route.
Artwork inspired by Eric Sloane
The railroad took its name from the imagined straight “air line” between New York and Boston, but Connecticut terrain required enormous engineering. The modern trail reveals that work through high embankments, rock cuts, the Lyman Viaduct area, station sites, and connections to other greenways.
Surface, width, and continuity vary across the long north and south sections. Choose a trailhead and mileage from official maps, then account for horse use, road crossings, muddy shoulders, and remote stretches. A one-way bicycle trip needs a return plan; the trail is not a transit service. Deep cuts and high fills repeatedly expose the railroad engineering.
- Length
- About 50 miles
- Origin
- Air Line Railroad
- Surface
- Crushed stone and mixed trail
Quick guide
- Pick the engineering
- Choose a viaduct, cut, or station-centered segment.
- Plan the return
- Mileage accumulates quickly on the gentle grade.
Know before you go
- Use section maps
- North and south portions have distinct access patterns.
- Expect mixed users
- Yield to horses and announce bicycle passes.
- Carry repair basics
- Remote sections offer few immediate services.
- Read the grade
- Fills and cuts reveal how engineers flattened the route.
Good to know
Long, level-looking rail trails encourage riders to overextend. Confirm surface and bridge status, carry water and a repair kit, and avoid treating private driveways or active rail corridors as missing links.
Notice these
- Lyman Viaduct
- Railroad cuts
- Wetland causeways