Northeastern Mass. Bike Paths and Trails

Bay Circuit (map)

120 miles of the projected 170-200 miles of this hiking trail are open to the public. When completed, it will encircle Boston from Newburyport to Duxbury at about the distance of I-495. Much of the trail is rideable. The nonprofit Bay Circuit Alliance is coordinating the cooperation of 50 cities and towns to make this trail possible.

Salem-Marblehead-Swampscott [map] [Marblehead map]

This trail on abandoned B&M rail right of way in Salem and Marblehead isn't paved, but it is rideable. The Marblehead section is stonedust which is hard enough for touring bikes and passes through several conservation areas. SPIRIT, the Swampscott Partnership Initiative: Rails Into Trails is trying to extend the trail eastward into Swampscott, where it would connect to the high school and the commuter rail station.

Maudslay State Park

In Newburyport, this former estate has crushed stone bikepaths along the Merrimack River.

Gloucester

Several biking and walking trails start at Stage Fort Park Visitor Welcoming Center.