Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is a 14.2 mi rail trail built on a former railroad corridor that runs parallel to Route 8 through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams, and into the city of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is a multi-use trail for biking, walking, roller-blading, and jogging. The trail is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail passes through the Hoosac River Valley, between Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Mountains. Cheshire Reservoir, the Hoosic River, and associated wetland communities flank much of the trail. The word Ashuwillticook is from the American Indian name for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means "at the in-between pleasant river," or in common tongue, "the pleasant river in between the hills."

History
In 1845, the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad developed this corridor with the goal of extending the Housatonic Railroad north to Rutland, Vermont. While the track was under construction, the company was acquired by the Western Railroad, which later became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A), as their North Adams Branch. Mineral traffic developed on the line and a number of limestone operations went into business. The New York Central Railroad took over the B&A in 1900, and upgraded the line, which was sold to the Boston and Maine Corporation (B&M) in 1981. As a connection to an existing track in North Adams, B&M operated the line until 1990.

The first two phases of the trail opened in 2001 and 2004, with a 1.2-mile northerly extension added in 2017. A 1.5 mi extension south to Crane Avenue opened in the spring of 2022.