Overview/History

The Moosup Valley State Park Trail (MVSPT) is a 5.8 mile rail trail in eastern Connecticut. It passes through the towns of Sterling and Plainfield on the rail bed of the former New Haven Railroad. It is a link in the ongoing assemblage of the East Coast Greenway. The former New Haven Railroad operated along this rail bed from 1898 to 1968.

In Plainfield, the trail is about 2.2 miles long with its western terminus at the River Street parking area. Heading east, the trail skirts the edge of the Moosup River Valley and offers occasional scenic vistas – more so in leaf off seasons. The trail continues 3.6 miles across Sterling to the Rhode Island border. From there the trail continues east as the Coventry Greenway through the town of Greene into Coventry, RI.

The MVSPT conditions vary greatly over its nearly six miles. Surfaces range from frequent packed dirt with some grassy, sandy and gravelly areas. Some lengths are still dominated by the old railroad ballast.

It is part of the CT DOT’s plan to resurface the entire MVSPT surface in calendar year 2017.