Belchertown | MassCentralRailTrail

MCRT: Belchertown

About MCRT Belchertown

Belchertown has strong farming roots, home to the New England Small Farm Institute and has a large agricultural fair every September. New arrivals enjoy a quiet location within commuting distance to nearby cities.

The MCRT corridor in Belchertown is over 11 miles long – the longest section of any town in the state. The western-most half mile is part of the Norwottuck Trail, a paved path that continues through Amherst and Hadley to Northampton. Almost all of the next 2.5 miles of former RR corridor heading east have been developed for residential housing, streets or merged with an active railroad. The next 6.5 miles of corridor are primarily owned by the Town, and most of it has a walking path. There are plans to develop a rail trail through woods, fields and wetlands on this section, sponsored by Friends of the Belchertown Greenway. The last 1.5 miles to Palmer are privately owned.

Visiting the MCRT in Belchertown

Access Points:

Parking for Norwottuck Trail at 351 Warren Wright Rd 
Parking for MCRT footpath at 95 George Hannum Rd 
Parking at several locations in town center 
Parking for MCRT path at rt181and Michael Sears Rd 
Limited parking on Depot St at Rabbit Run trail, west of Swift River bridge
Public transportation: Bus 43 from Northampton to Amherst, transfer to bus 45 to Belchertown Center (https://www.pvta.com/schedules/Rt43.pdf )

Additional Resources

MassTrailTracker
Ride with GPS

Connecting Trails:

The New England Trail crosses the MCRT alternative route in the northwestern section of town - https://newenglandtrail.org/
For mountain bikers, the Jabish Canal Trail crosses the MCRT at N. Washington St. More MTB trails are ½ mile south, along the eastern side of the MCRT (north of Jabish Brook Bridge).

Points of Interest:

NE Small Farm Institute on Jackson St https://smallfarm.org/

Belchertown Town Common – several restaurants, stores, historic library building, and old town hall

Jabish Brook Trestle Bridge – a unique feature in a picturesque location, excellent fishing spot

Quabbin Visitor Center - 3.2 miles east of Belchertown Center- primary water supply for Boston, with scenic views, abundant wildlife https://www.mass.gov/locations/quabbin-reservoir.

Suggested Itinerary:

This route goes from West to East, starting at the Belchertown / Amherst town line on the Norwottuck Rail Trail.

For cyclists, a route that includes on-street alternatives and the section between Washington St and rt 181 is here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53518016

Trail Guide (West to East)

Mile

0.3 mi - end of Norwottuck Rail Trail, parking lot. Turn right onto Warren Wright Rd.

1.8 mi - left on Bay Rd 

1.9 mi -cross the New England Trail 

4.0 mi - right on Hamilton St 

4.2 mi - cross the MCRT corridor (footpath - undeveloped) 

5.3 mi - left on George Hannum St. 

5.35 mi - right on Jackson St - for walkers, there is a trailhead ⅓ mile ahead on George Hannum St on the right, with a path going south on the MCRT corridor for almost 2 miles to Springfield Rd. Parts of this section can be difficult to cross, and very wet after rain.  Continuing with the on-road alternate route:
5.5 mi - entrance to NE Small Farm Institute 

5.9 mi - turn left to continue on Jackson St. Cross the active rail line and the MCRT corridor and walking trail in 100 ft. This section will be developed as a rail trail in 2029.   

6.5 mi - right on N Main St - town center 

7.0 mi - right on N Washington St 

7.2 mi -right on Springfield Rd

7.6 mi - left onto MCRT - dirt path. Most of this next section is quite passable in dry weather, but there are some sections where road bikers will have to walk their bikes

8.7 mi - cross N Washington St - careful, steep slopes before and after this crossing, and drivers have limited visibility around curves

9.9 mi - Jabish Brook Bridge, a unique bent timber railroad bridge dating from the 1800s.

10.7 mi - wetlands and pond to the left, grey heron area

10.9 mi - turn right onto rt 181, at a small dirt parking area

12.4 mi - left on Depot St., parking on left at entrance to Rabbit Run trail heading north. Continue into Palmer across the Swift River. 

Current MCRT Projects in Belchertown

The Jabish Brook Bridge, between Rt 202 and Rt 181, will be rehabilitated in 2026 through a MassTrails Grant. (https://www.belchertowngreenway.org/_files/ugd/92f6ae_9d8d2a27173f4143bb730088ee965ee3.pdf )

The Mass Dept of Transportation will begin construction in 2029 on a project to build a trail from Bay Rd to Maple St., about 1.3 miles.

The Friends of the Belchertown Greenway (https://www.belchertowngreenway.org/ ) are actively looking for ways to complete the rest of the Town-owned sections and acquire access to other sections.

A Brief History of the MCRT in Belchertown

 The first railroad came through Belchertown in the 1850s, eventually becoming the Central Vermont RR which continues to bring freight traffic through town heading south. The Central Mass RR began operations from Northampton through Belchertown to Boston in 1887. In the 1940s, most of the (renamed) Mass Central RR in Belchertown was merged with the Central Vermont, as these two rail lines were very close to each other. Passenger service on the MCRR was discontinued in 1932, and freight service ended in 1975. The segment from Northampton to Belchertown was purchased by the Department of Conservation and Recreation in 1985, with completion through Amherst in 1993. DCR extended the trail from the Amherst town line to the current end and parking lot in Belchertown in 1997.