Air Line South State Park Trail - East Hampton — Attraction in East Hampton

• UPDATE 2019 - Portland section is NOT SAFE due to abutting residential property target shooting with 50 yards of the trail. **

This trail has been there for longer than anyone reading this. ATVs and dirt bikes kept it single-track for decades and it was hike-able/run-able. The latest improvements from Cobalt west into Portland are wonderful, its about a 4 mile loop if you go from one end to the other.

This has been a wonderful example of making the history and woods of the area accessible to everyone. Its great to be out there in any season.

Only 1-1.5 miles separates the Cobalt -end from connecting to the Westernmost-end in East Hampton at Alden's Crossing, hopefully this gets done with soon!

EDIT- The Portland leg of the Airline Trail will be connected to the East Hampton end by the end of 2018. Construction about to begin now (August 2018).

Also- THANK YOU to the majority of folks to keep your dogs on leashes. While yours may be a creampuff, other dogs are not so friendly and some people are afraid of dogs, in general. Thank you for being considerate.

Also also- This should be totally apparent by the "NO MOTOR VEHICLE" signs, but dirt bikes, even at slow speeds, no longer have a place on the Airline Trail. This isn't because we don't love you, its because many people's kids and dogs are afraid of them. The vast majority of dirt bike/ATV riders have respected this (and were always respectful to passing people slowly before the overhaul when it was just a singletrack foot path), however some are still insistent that this doesn't apply to them. Please, just don't ride on the trail anymore, thank you.

Also also also- I get asked a lot about parking. You can park at the westmost-end off Middle Haddam Road (now marked on Google Maps) and also there is space at the crossing of Pennfield Hill Rd and Depot Hill road in Cobalt.

Finally- Portland residents, please slow down for people who look like they are intending to cross in the clearly marked crosswalks at Breezy Corners, Pennfield Hill, and Depot Hill Road. I know its new and you're late for something, but there's a lot of small kids on bikes crossing these roads and I've seen some very close...

This is a beautiful rail trail!! I'm so lucky to have it so close by. The trail is pretty flat. It's a pretty easy walk or bike ride. We do both. The sights are beautiful!!! It's mostly shade with a few spots where there's sun. There are benches along the trail to stop and rest. In the East Hampton Village right along Main Street where the trail crosses there are some great shops, and a very popular Thai Restaurant called Po's Rice and Spice!! There food is phenomenal!! You won't be disappointed. There also a coffee shop and pizza shop. Dexter's is also a great place to grab a craft beer and play some games. It's a really cool place. If you need to fix your bike there's Airline Cycles there also. If you start the trail here there's a decent size parking lot. The trail is kept up. Sometimes it can be a little busy but it's such a long trail you don't really notice it. At times you might see people on horseback. This is a great trail. You won't be...

The ambitious New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad got its name, Air Line, from the soaring viaducts built to ensure a level trackbed on its high-speed route from New York to Boston.

The Air Line opened in 1873 and the section between East Hampton and the Connecticut-Massachusetts linehad been abandoned by the mid-20th century to become a trail.

The 25-mile southern portion of this route, from East Hampton to Windham, is designated a National Recreation Trail and is a breeze to walk or cycle on.

The Air Line State Park Trail has a smooth stone dust surface and crosses buried 19th-century trestles at the Rapallo and Lyman viaducts, with benches positioned at scenic spots...