Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail / Enfield Falls Canal
North-Central Connecticut / Suffield, Connecticut
Activity
Biking / Historic Canal
Distance
8.8 mi round trip
Elevation gain
~80 ft
Route
Out & back
The adventure
Ride an old canal towpath trapped between a 19th-century waterway and the Connecticut River. Ride the full historic canal towpath between Suffield and Windsor Locks with the old canal on one side and the Connecticut River on the other.
Start at the Canal Road trailhead in Suffield and ride south on the old towpath with the historic canal beside you. Follow the full 4.4-mile corridor toward Windsor Locks, pass the surviving canal structures and Connecticut River viewpoints, reach the southern end, turn around, ride all the way back to Canal Road.
What to expect
- Ride the full historic canal towpath between Suffield and Windsor Locks with the old canal on one side and the Connecticut River on the other.
- From Route 190, turn south onto Route 159 and immediately onto Canal Road. Follow Canal Road to its end and use the trail parking on the left. Enter the paved towpath and ride south, keeping with the single canal corridor all the way toward Windsor Locks. Continue to the southern trail end near Canal Bank Road, then reverse course and return the full 4.4 miles to the Canal Road parking area.
Good to know
- 8.8 ROUND TRIP
- The trail runs 4.4 miles one way along the historic Windsor Locks Canal between Suffield and Windsor Locks.
- RAPIDS BYPASS
- The canal was built from 1827 to 1829 to bypass the troublesome Enfield rapids in the Connecticut River.
- WATER BOTH SIDES
- The towpath is squeezed between the old canal and Connecticut River for much of the ride.
- SEASONAL TRAIL
- This trail has a recurring seasonal closure, so this is not a show-up-any-month ride.
- FIND THE OLD LOCK
- Slow down long enough to inspect one of the surviving canal-lock structures. You are riding a towpath built to solve a river problem almost 200 years ago.
- Fee
- Free — no required entrance or parking fee.
- Dogs
- allowed-on-leash.
- Season
- The canal towpath has a recurring seasonal closure extending through the winter period; confirm the current opening date before visiting.
Photos