Governor: Good Timing For CT Trail Systems To Be Popular

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont has made it quite clear that the state's hiking and recreation trails are not only open, but offer a solid way to get outside while maintaining coronavirus social distancing recommendations.

In a news conference Monday afternoon, Lamont said state officials might start limiting the amount of cars in parking areas, but still wanted to emphasize the trails as a viable exercise option.

So, what are the most popular?

The University of Connecticut Extension last week released the latest data on how several of the state's most popular multi-use trails are being used. The numbers are from 2019.

"Connecticut's trails are among the state’s most scenic and enduring assets," said Charles Tracy, the coordinator for the annial Trail Census. "With three years of data collection complete, we now have a much clearer picture of trail use trends on several of the state’s major multi-use trails.

The data released includes Trail Census summaries of the 2019 Trail Counts and Trail User Surveys along with an analysis of the impact of the new Hop River Trail connection to Manchester and East Hartford.

The Trail Counts report documented 1,544,158 uses or trips recorded across all 20 sites.

The most heavily used trails during 2019 were the Naugatuck River Greenway in Derby, Riverfront Recapture Trail in Hartford, and the Hop River Trail in Vernon.

The Trail User Survey report found that the majority of trail users visit them frequently. A total of 64.7 percent use the trails two or more times per week, compared to 55.7 percent in 2018.

The Hop River Trail report showed how a new 3-mile trail connection was the catalyst for an increase in more than 10,000 users in one year.

Six locations cracked the 100,000 use mark in 2019. They are:

1. Still River Greenway, Brookfield: 178,577 total uses, 500 daily average
2. Naugatuck River Greenway, Derby: 160,754 total uses, 604 daily average
3. Hop River Trail, Vernon: 146,978 total uses, 408 daily average
4. Riverwalk Trail, Hartford, 143,243 total uses, 392 daily average
5. Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, New Haven: 116,228 total uses, 318 daily average
6. Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, Cheshire: 109,296, 299 daily average

See how the rest of the trails surveyed ranked here.

Lamont stressed social distancing based on an experience last weekend wehen he ran into a large group of young people clustered together.

"The parks are big," he said. "The group's don't need to be tight."