Manhan Rail Trail

The Manhan Rail Trail is a rails-to-trails paved recreational trail and non-motorized commuter route located in the lower Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts in the town of Easthampton. The 6-mile-long (9.7 km) trail, completed in 2003, is part of the larger New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway that would extend from New Haven, Connecticut, to Northampton, Massachusetts. The trail, named after the Manhan River which it parallels, utilizes the bed of the former New Haven and Northampton Railroad, which served the industrial towns of the lower Pioneer Valley from the mid-19th century until 1992. It begins at the Northampton-Easthampton line near Route 5 and ends at Coleman Road, just over the Southampton town line. A spur connecting the Manhan Rail Trail to the Northampton Rail Trail System opened in 2010. There are plans to extend the route south through Southampton via the Southampton Greenway and eventually to Westfield to connect with the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail.