Ashuwillticook Rail Trail -
Adams to Lanesborough, Massachusetts

One of the things I did on my vacation this summer was to ride on a great Rail-Trail route in western Massachusetts called the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. Before I describe my ride on this trail I'd like to provide a little background, courtesy of the fine Mass. Department of Environmental Management brochure.

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is a former railroad corridor, now converted into a paved 10-foot wide, universally accessible path. It is part of the Massachusetts State Forests and Parks system, and runs parallel to route 8 through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams. It is being completed in two phases. When finished the trail will be 11 miles long.

The word Ashuwillticook (ASH-oo-Will-ti-COOK) is from the Native American name for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means "at the in-between pleasant river," or in common tongue, "the pleasant river in between the hills." The name was adopted for the trail as a way to reconnect people to local history and the natural environment.

History of the Rail Corridor
In 1845, the Pittsfield & north Adams Railroad developed this corridor with the goal of extending the Housatonic Railroad north to Rutland, Vermont. While the track was under construction, the company was acquired by the Western Railroad, who used the corridor as a secondary line.

In 1867, the Western Railroad became known as the Boston & Albany Railroad. During this time, mineral traffic developed on the line and a number of lime stone operations went into business. The New York Central took over the B&A Railroad in 1900, and upgraded the line.

New York Central became part of Penn-Central(later Conrail) in 1970 and sold the line to Boston & Main Railroad in 1981.

As a connection to an existing track in North Adams, Boston & Maine Railroad ran the line with declining success until they abandoned rail service in 1990.

Seeing the potential for recreational use of the corridor, citizens organized to preserve the right-of-way. The Ashuwillticook River Trail committee soon formed and worked to gain the local and political support needed to make this rail trail a reality.

Mike's Ride on the Ashuwillticook

I haven't been on a lot of rail trails, but this one is especially beautiful. I started off in Adams at the trail visitors center and headed south. This trail is special because there are four separate environments that you pass through during your 11 mile ride south.

I lived in the area for 22 years and spent many days and nights in and around Adams. I worked for the highway department for a while there. But I I've never seen Adams from the rail side. The trail follows the river closely, and takes you behind some of the neighborhoods in the area. You move under an overpass (where I used to "whack weeds" for the highway department) and cross over the river. Train rail grades are limited to 3% or less (I think), so I was interested to see how the trail would negotiate the very large hills on the way south to Cheshire. Well, on the other side of the river, in the first of four terrains, you proceed at about a 1-2% grade that is cut into the side of the hill. On the other side is a quickly moving, clean river. You even pass by a dam / waterfall that was used to power one of long since gone mills in the area. After a mile or so of this, you cross a small street that provides access to a local bike-outdoors shop nearby and into the second area.

This second area is completely unlike the first. Instead of grades cut into a hill, overhung with trees you are now in a flat, almost marshy area, with lots of little water bogs. No road noise at all. The 10-foot wide, freshly paved and absolutely flat blacktop trail stretches straight ahead for a few miles. There are benches on the side of the trail if you need to rest, but I'd keep going to avoid the mosquitoes that must surely be around.

Towards the end of this section you move into Cheshire and approach Route 8. It's a busy road and the crossing can be tricky so you must be careful here. This marks the beginning of the third environment: lake country. The trail proceeds along the east side of Cheshire Lake for several miles. I used to go fishing on Cheshire Lake with my dad as a kid, but the lake fell on hard times: contamination, weeds. Not good. But it seems to have made a comeback as I saw lots of people again fishing. In the morning, the sun shines across the lake and onto the western hills creating a beautiful view. The trail seemed to be more crowded in this area. Besides bikes you can expect to see roller bladers, walkers, runners, and attack geese! It is a multi-purpose trail, not just a bike path. I had no trouble politely negotiating the other users.

After the lakes you move into the last environment, a small wooded section. Route 8 is close at times, but the cars seem to rise and fall in the air to your left as they follow the road. I continued my flat trek. This trail is great if you don't want to have to work on the hills in the area. I mean hills, not those little bumps in the roads that pass for hills around Fort Wayne. It can get pretty tiring if you don't do it a lot.

Anyways, after a mile or so in the woods you emerge at the current end of the trail near the Berkshire Mall, just outside of Pittsfield. There's a parking area there if you want to park there and travel north to Adams and back. Or, you can just turn around and ride back; the view IS always different on the return trip. And going back you get to go DOWN the grade in Adams!

It's a great trail, clean and new. There are no trash cans on the trail and you are expected to carry out what you carry in. There are rest areas on each end, and there's a nice little restaurant or two in Cheshire. If you're looking for a great way to spent a low key couple of hours in the Berkshires on your bike, I can't think of a better way to do it.

M. Heyes

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