"East of Keeney" Trails

Glastonbury/Manchester, Connecticut

Description

For lack of an official name for this area, "East of Keeney" Street is the reference name. There are plenty of hills and scenic areas for hiking, biking and enjoying nature and definitely worth exploring.

731.54 acres were purchased from the MDC in 2021 and have been designated as Open Space. There are 3 parcels, Parcels 1 and 2 are owned by the Town of Glastonbury and Parcel 3 is owned by the Town of Manchester.

• Parcel 1 - South of Howe Road
  Acreage: 108.76
• Parcel 2 - North of Howe Road
  Acreage: 268.71
• Parcel 3 - East of Nike Recreation Site
  Acreage: 327.07
• Parcel3a (addendum)
  Acreage: 27

Trails in Parcel 3 have been mapped and appear online in various Trail Map Apps (AllTrails, OpenStreetMap, etc.). The trail systems in Parcels 1 and 2 are being developed, many are vestiges of dirt bike trails and in the area North of Howe Street (Parcel 2) there are very active cleared and eroded dirt bike trails.

It is hoped when the Town finally decides to examine the area in detail, much of the sustainable mountian bike friendly trails will be approved and, if needed, further improved by the Town (bridges over streams, signage, etc.).

Parcel 1

South of Howe, the highlight is the ridge trail that runs along a high ridge above the river, In the valley below, there are remnants of two former dams and even a 400-foot spillway!

Parcel 2

This parcel, North of Howe Street, really has two sections: a north section and a south section. The south section has the hilliest most challenging landscape but frustrating because it is riddled with very eroded, still-active dirt bike trails. This has been a dirt bikers' haven to ride for more that 25 years so finding the sustainable non-fall line trails to ride or hike can be difficult. There are some great sections and very scenic areas as well, but in general, look for the narrower non-eroded trails.

The north section of this parcel has a wide east-west trail that runs over a water line. You can even see a couple of manholes on the trail. Unfortunately there are sections that are very wet - hopefully these can be fixed by the Town eventually. Trail gnomes are planning on creating a new dry rideable loop in this area in the near future as it is very scenic. The long connection north to the Nike trails has a hike-a-bike section down into the Salmon River ravine but the rest is flat and easy to ride.

Parcel 3

Trails in this area have been legit for some time and if you know where to look, there are even remnants of a former ski area.

Map Choices

Use standard mobile touch gestures to enlarge map, etc. Note: You may need to view in landscape mode to see Parcel 3 map/tab.