The Northern Rail Trail showcases a wealth of natural beauty and history: Several river crossings provide scenic beauty. A range of railroad bridges, covered bridges and rail stations provide a reminder of the railroading past.
Our one-way trip on the Northern Rail Trail, from Canaan to Highland Lake in East Andover, provided easy, mostly downhill riding after the Orange Summit cut. We parked in the town of Canaan parking lot, which has immediate access to the trail down Depot Street, and left our “shuttle vehicle” at Highland Lake, where there is good parking on the trail. We had two couples join us this time (even though it was mid-Pandemic, we could social-distance on the trail), and it was a treat to share it with friends.
Our first brief stop was at Mirror Lake (Figure 1) where we enjoyed the view of Mt. Cardigan over the water’s surface which lived up to its name. From there we rode slightly uphill (only a ~1% grade) to where we crossed under Rt. 4 in a culvert (Figure 2). After a bit more uphill we entered the Orange Summit rock cut which required months of hand drilling and blasting to complete in 1846. (Figure 3).
Figure 1. Mirror Lake.
Figure 2.
Figure 3. Orange Summit Rock Cut
The next town was Grafton, where the quilt display planned or in progress at this church in Grafton was a hit with my wife, who is a quilting fan (Figure 4). Our next stop at the Danbury General store was a great place for lunch. South of Danbury we stopped briefly at Eagle Pond (at Cioffi’s Landing) between Danbury and Andover and looked across to the Boy and Girl Scout camps (Figure 5). Next, we came to the Potter Place Depot and the caboose (Figure 6). From there we took about a mile round trip detour down the reasonably flat Cilleyville road to see the Cilleyville Bog Bridge, nicely restored in 2003 (Figure 7). This bridge is a nice complement to the Keniston bridge in Andover . (Figure 8). Further along we crossed a common type of railroad bridge, Pratt’s Truss (Figure 9); when you see these look for the “tell-tails” above the trail (Figure 10) that signaled anyone on top of the train that a low bridge was coming! We ended our ride at Highland Lake where we’d left a car to shuttle back to Canaan.
Figure 4. Grafton Church.
Figure 5. Cioffi’s Landing, Eagle Pond.
Figure 6. Potter Place Depot and caboose.
Figure 7. Cilleyville Bog Bridge.
Figure 8. Keniston Bridge, Andover, 1882.
Figure 9. Pratt’s Truss.
Figure 10. “Tell-Tales”