Mass Central Rail Trail
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- 3.1 mi
- round trip
- 256 ft
- climb
- Out and back
- route
- Apr–Jun, Aug–Oct
- best months
Clear today
Weather is good · OpenWeather · checked 10 h ago
The Mass Central Rail Trail is a mountain biking route in Massachusetts, about 1.4 miles from the town of Pine Lake. It is an out-and-back ride of roughly 6.3 miles, with a total elevation gain of about 51 feet. The trail starts and ends at nearly the same elevation, around 160 feet, and the high point is about 221 feet. The climb is easy, and the steepest stretch comes at about 2.4 miles in, with a grade of about 6 percent. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Maynard put May highs around 73°F and September highs around 78°F, while July averages climb to about 87°F. Several other trails sit close by. The Desert Loop Trail is about 0.1 mile away, and the Old Pine Trail and Plymton Trail are within a mile. Climbers can head to Tippling Rock, about 1.8 miles off.
Desert Loop TrailHikingPhoto: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)0.1 mi
Old Pine TrailHikingPhoto: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)0.4 mi
Plymton TrailHikingPhoto: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)0.7 mi- Tippling RockRock climbing1.8 mi
- Assabet RiverRiver fishing3.5 mi
- Fort Pond BrookCanoeing6.7 mi
- Bolton/LancasterRock climbing7.1 mi
- Powder House CragRock climbing8.3 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Bay Circuit TrailMountain biking · ~36 min drivePhoto: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- Old Manse TrailMountain biking · ~15 min drive
- Milk CrateMountain biking · ~24 min drive
- Coon Hollow PathMountain biking · ~36 min drive
- Bay Circuit TrailMountain biking · ~36 min drivePhoto: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
- Red PathMountain biking · ~22 min drive
- PowerglideMountain biking · ~25 min drive
- Track Road/Assabet River Rail Trail EasementMountain biking · ~5 min drive
- Red PathMountain biking · ~22 min drive
- Rt 3 OverlookMountain biking · ~28 min drive
Best time to visit Mass Central Rail Trail
Best months: April–June and August–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
37° / 15°
11 wet
Feb
41° / 16°
9 wet
Mar
48° / 24°
12 wet
Apr
62° / 34°
12 wet
May
73° / 45°
12 wet
Jun
81° / 55°
11 wet
Jul
87° / 60°
10 wet
Aug
85° / 58°
10 wet
Sep
78° / 49°
9 wet
Oct
66° / 38°
11 wet
Nov
54° / 29°
10 wet
Dec
43° / 21°
11 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Maynard 2, MA, 3.8 mi away at 205 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors
