Building a better future

To expand our available recreation for kids and kids at heart, we have proposed the addition of a bicycle playground to our town’s amenities. We are working with an external design and installation firm to craft a proposal for maximum fun at a conservative budget. We can’t wait for you to experience what’s coming!

(Concept image, not actual design for Sturbridge)

The Town of Sturbridge was able to purchase and preserve a beautiful piece of land on Fiske Hill Rd, close to the rt. 131 intersection. This land was not fit for building or farming, but perfect for outdoor recreation and aligned with the vision to connect more residential neighborhoods to local trail systems.

A parking lot has been completed and the central trail will be built in Summer 2024.

As part of filling the Grand Trunk Trail gaps in town, a piece of land bordering both Shepard Rd and rt.15 will be utilized as an additional parking area and access point to a short walking loop with kayak access to the Quinebaug River.

In addition, this area will be the parking location for the proposed bicycle park.

Completion of this project will put us one large step closer to completing our portion of the Titanic Rail Trail.

As part of our ongoing maintenance of the Leadmine Mountain property, the Sturbridge Trails Committee plans to install multiple bridges and wetland crosses within the network where environmental impact can be reduced.

Many of these projects will be part of our 3rd Saturday monthly work days and we would appreciate the help of volunteers in the community.

As part of our ongoing maintenance of the Plimpton Community Forest property, we will be installing bridges and wetland crossings on the established trail loops where environmental impact can be lessened from trail usage.

Many of these projects will be part of our 3rd Saturday monthly work days and we would appreciate the help of volunteers in the community.

Our purpose-built downhill mountain bike flow trails will move ahead with Phase 2 on the Riverlands property in the Summer of 2024.

We will continue our approach of a conservation first mindset with minimal impact to the environment and low trail density.

In our continued commitment to fully connect our portion of the Titanic Rail Trail, we will be extending the Grand Trunk Trail out to rt.15 and a bridge extension across the Quinebaug River.

To increase access to the trails from our primary roadways, the Town of Sturbridge approved the design and installation of a parking area, bridge, and connector trail to be built from Main St. (rt.20) to the Riverlands trail system.

The design phase is underway and there will be updates to the timeline as we make progress.

In the winter of 2023/2024 the Long Pond property showed its capacity in moving a high volume of precipitation through its existing culverts. In turn, trail flooding became a significant problem.

The Town of Sturbridge and Sturbridge Trails Committee quickly remedied the issue by making a long needed replacement to the culverts, which will support decades of future infrastructure needs and clear trail usage.

Maintaining our trails here in Sturbridge requires hours of ongoing effort by our volunteers. Our dear friends Kathy & Brian lead our “Weekday Crew” to clear downed trees, mitigate erosion, and keep all our trails safe and accessible.

Our partners at Northern Tree supplement our maintainers when heavier equipment is needed to get the job done - please support them!