Posted By auntie on February 10, 2019

6.5 miles; Groton, CT

This was mostly a revisit to a place I hiked with my friends Stacy and Dallas back in April of 2017. Through this blog I was asked by someone at the Rails to Trails Conservancy if I had any pictures of the trail from that original hike. Turns out I didn’t have any photos specifically of the Trolley Trail, so I offered to go back and get some, and I managed some extra mileage to boot.

Ship and Lighthouse

It was a brilliantly clear and sunny day on the coast here in Connecticut. Just a tad cold is all… it was 24º when I set off, although it actual rose above freezing during the course of the hike. Thank heavens for long underwear and puffy jackets!

Swan on Mumford Cove

As usual, you are going to have to take my word for the accuracy of the captions on the 2 photos above. Someday I’ll get me a real camera that has a real zoom lens… till then, alas, you’re stuck with these crappy iPhone shots.

Tidy Nest

Pretty sure this nest has been here for literally years. The tenants, whoever they are, must just get used to the Amtrak train whizzing by several times a day.

Town Benchmark

This was in the middle of the trail near the railroad bridge that crosses the Amtrak tracks. In case I was wondering what town I was in.

Actual Trail Shot

And here is one of the shots I sent to the Rails-to-Trails people. This is a very nice paved trail. It runs for about a mile from the end of Neptune Drive to a cul-de-sac at the end of Knoxville Court in Groton, crossing the Amtrak tracks via an old railroad bridge. You can also access it, like I did, from Bluff Point State Park or from Haley Farm State Park. I guess there used to be an old trolley line that ran from Groton to Stonington, hence the “G+S” name. It appears to be lightly used—I didn’t meet a soul the whole length of the trail.

Little Bridge

The trail crosses a little bridge here, and ultimately ends at a cul-de-sac, as I mentioned above. But there is a little footpath at the back of the cul-de-sac that comes out on Industrial Drive, which you can then follow back to Bluff Point State Park, thus making a nice loop trail.

The Track (click for details)

You can find out more about the G+S Trolley Trail from this excellent (as always) Peter Marteka column, which includes links to trail maps for both Bluff Point and Haley Farm State Parks, both of which include the Trolley Trail. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Categories: Connecticut, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 5–7 miles, CT, Groton CT