Northeastern Mass. Bikeways and Trails

Bay Circuit (map)

120 miles of the projected 170-200 miles of this hiking trail are open to the public. When completed, it will encircle Boston from Newburyport to Duxbury at about the distnace of I-495. Much of the trail is bikable. The nonprofit Bay Circuit Alliance is coordinating the cooperation of 50 cities and towns to make this trail possible.

Salem-Marblehead-Swampscott [map] [Marblehead map]

This trail on abandoned B&M rail right of way in Salem and Marblehead isn't paved, but it is rideable. The Marblehead section is stonedust which is hard enough for touring bikes and passes through several conservation areas. SPIRIT, the Swampscott Partnership Initiative: Rails Into Trails is trying to extend the trail eastward into Swampscott, where it would connect to the high school and the commuter rail station.

Maudslay State Park

In Newburyport, this former estate has crushed stone bikepaths along the Merrimack River.

Gloucester

Several biking and walking trails start at Stage Fort Park Visitor Welcoming Center.

Future Northeastern Mass. Bikeways and Trails

Border to Boston Bikeway

Abandoned rail rights-of-way in Peabody and Salem are the gateway to this truly long-distance trail which could connect Salem to Salisbury, at the New Hampshire Border. The North Shore Bikeways Coalition, a chapter of the Bicycle Coalition of Massachusetts, is working to develop an on- and off-road bikeway network in Essex County.

Newburyport Bikepath

In August 1997, it was announced that a four-mile trail along two old rail lines would be built as part of the Newburyport/Newbury line commuter rail station project. From the train station near the Route 1 traffic circle, the path will follow two abandoned rail spurs, one winding through the South End and along the waterfront, and the other alongside Route 1, to the site of the city's former train station on Winter Street. Connections to Plum Island, Maudslay State Park, and the Border to Boston Rail Trail are future possibilities.

Peabody Bikeway [map]

The 6.6-mile-long Peabody Bikeway will begin in Peabody Square and parallel Lowell Street and Russell Street, following the abandoned Boston and Maine railroad, and will incorporate the Proctor Brook Trail as well. Its construction will be funded by TEA-21 money administered by the Mass. Highway Dept. It will connect over 465 acres of publicly owned open space in Peabody, as well as providing an alternate, car-free route between neighborhoods and shopping areas. The design calls for a 10-foot wide bituminous concrete path with a 2-foot crushed stone shoulder on one side and a 5-foot walking path on the other. The 25% Design Phase public design review is on Tuesday, June 5, 2001 at 7:00 P.M. in F.L. Wiggin Auditorium at Peabody City Hall, 24 Lowell St.

Essex Railroad Rail-Trail

This project is being actively promoted by the North Andover Bicycle Committee, which has photos of the route on their web site.

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