State trails drawing quite the crowd

When the calendar flipped from February to March, it was business as usual on Connecticut’s trails along the East Coast Greenway, which stretches from Florida to Maine.

The regulars had little concern about social distancing as they traversed the Air Line State Park Trail, Hop River Trail, Charter Oak Greenway, Farmington Canal Greenway and 14 other locations that draw daily visits from walkers, runners and bicyclists.

Things have changed since then, and with gyms among the businesses ordered closed by Gov. Ned Lamont to slow the spread of COVID-19, it seems natural that newcomers have discovered the trails.

The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Hamden saw nearly three times as many visitors this March as in March 2019, according to the UConn Connecticut Trail Census. Increases at the Norwalk River Valley and Shoreline Greenway trails were only slightly off that pace.

“I think it is right in line with what I expected,” said Jack Walsh, co-chair of the Naugatuck River Greenway Steering Committee and a regular visitor on the trail in Derby. “We didn’t get as big of a jump in percentage in Derby as some of the other trails because we were already heavily used. The weather was better in March than it was in February so some of it is due to the better weather but most of it is just people looking to get outside.”

But with so many restrictions in place to prevent mass gatherings, too much of a good thing could result in trails being closed. It happened with the closing of Still River Greenway in Brookfield on March 26 because there was no way to guarantee trail users would maintain the proper amount of distance. A similar decision was made in Ansonia.

Signs reminding visitors to follow social-distancing protocol can be seen throughout Connecticut trails, with more added as the trails become more popular.

“We have to figure out how to keep people apart, how to keep people from congregating as much as possible,” said Bruce Donald, chairman of the Connectict

Connecticut trails have seen a large jump in usage since gyms were closed because of an executive order by Gov. Ned Lamont in mid-March. Here’s a look at 11 Connecticut trails, comparing daily visitors from March 1-13 to March 14-31. Numbers are courtesy of the Connecticut Trail Census.

Air Line Trail, East Hampton: 187.1 414.18

Air Line Trail, Portland: 57.3

183.33

Farmington Canal, Cheshire: 271.6 526.1

Farmington Canal, Hamden: 200 398.4

Farmington Canal, New Haven: 271.1 402

Larkin State Bridle Trail, Oxford: 105.6 204.1

Naugatuck River Greenway, Derby: 916.5 1,412.3

Norwalk River Valley, Wilton: 240.9 466.0

Shoreline Greenway, Madison: 215.9 463.2

Still River Greenway, Brookfield: 692.5 1147.1

Sue Grossman Trail, Torrington: 266.2 434.2

(Still River Greenway numbers are through March 26.)

Greenways Council and tri-state coordinator for the East Coast Greenway Alliance. “I try to get out as much as possible, probably two or three times a week on the trails in various parts in the state, and I mostly see people really try hard. I see a lot of masks now, many more than I used to.”

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection makes the decision to close trails in state parks. However, decisions on closing other trails typically fall to town and city officials.

“That call is difficult for some towns that don’t have the wherewithal to send out a policeman [when parking lots start filling up] for instance or have the ability to send out a cruiser three or