By Steve Sokoloski

It has been an exciting year for the six mile ALTSP corridor from Pomfret Station to Putnam. This section is home to a major “closing the gap” project. It is a complex multi-phase endeavor that will finish up in 2022. The project now about two thirds complete. It started with a federal USDA loan and grant, using the existing ALSPT trail bed to construct a sewer connection from two private schools with failing septic systems and Pomfret’s a commercial/industrial area to Putnam’s Water Pollution Control Facility. This phase has been completed and the connected users are starting to pay off the loan portion with their sewer fees.

By Steve Sokoloski

The ALTSP has become a haven for my family in this year of Covid-19. As pandemic restrictions became the new normal last spring, exploring the trail from North Windham to Pomfret Station became the mainstay recreation for our family “bubble”. Retired grandparents, our then pregnant daughter, an active two-year-old, a dog, and now a six-month-old, we have become a merry band, finding socially distanced adventure on the trail as a daily activity.

One of the joys of living in and visiting The Last Green Valley is the ability to explore the Air Line State Park Trail, which runs diagonally through the National Heritage Corridor. But for people with mobility challenges, it isn’t always easy to find detailed information that will help them decide whether they, too, can access and enjoy the trail.

By Kim Bradley

There is really nothing quite like jumping on your bicycle and exploring the beautiful landscape of Connecticut while challenging your body and mind. Two wheels provide an escape from the daily routine and opportunity to breathe deeply and focus on the trail ahead. This spring, my teammates on the Stage 1 Cycling Club encouraged me to take on a new challenge, the Natchaug Epic Gravel Ride event.

By Steve Sokoloski

Many of us know the story of the New York and New England Limited, the Air Line’s famous all white “Ghost Train” express that brought luminaries like Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling from New York to Boston in just six hours. Did you know that the Limited only ran for just four years, from 1891-1895?  The full rail line served eastern Connecticut for almost a century with freight and passenger service, shaping the lives of rural farmers and city workers.

Submitted by Frank Zitkus
Town of Hebron

An early Spring Day, April 18, 2016, and time for our first bike of the year on the beloved Air Line Trail (ALT). My wife Ann and I commenced our journey and unexpectant “Trail Tale” at Cook Hill Road in Lebanon. Onto our bikes with snacks in tow, we happily head east toward Windham where we planned to pick up a prescription at Willimantic Pharmacy.

Submitted by Jim Cordier
Conservation and Inland Wetlands Agent
Town of Hebron

Last November, I was checking trail conditions and looking for beaver activity that sometimes floods a section of the Air Line Trail in Hebron between Raymond Brook Marsh and Old Colchester Road. The trail bisects both town and state conservation lands and if anything is amiss, I contact DEEP to periodically trim down the dams to address the situation.