Taconic Trails or Taconic Trail may refer to any or all of three long distance recreational trails and associated networks of shorter trails within the

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains () are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played a role in the history of geological science, is separated from th ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. The three main trails are: *The

South Taconic Trail The South Taconic Trail is a hiking trail in the Taconic Mountains of southwest Massachusetts and adjacent New York. The trail extends from Shagroy Road in Millerton, New York, north along the ridgecrest of the southern Taconic Range and the bor ...

, a 15.7 mi (25.3 km) ridgeline

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trail located in the southwest corner of Massachusetts and adjacent parts of New York. *The Taconic Crest Trail, a 35 mi (56 km) ridgeline hiking trail located north of

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

. Its southern third is located in Pittsfield State Forest of Massachusetts, its middle third traverses the border of Massachusetts and New York, and its northern third is located along the New York-Vermont border. *The Taconic Skyline Trail a multi-use ridgeline trail located entirely within the Massachusetts Taconics, east of the Taconic Crest Trail. This trail is primarily used by

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

users and

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

rs and is maintained as such. Trail networks in the northern Taconic region (northwest Massachusetts, southwest Vermont, and adjacent New York) are sometimes referred to as the "North Taconic Trails." In the late 1990s, the Taconic Crest Trail and Taconic Skyline Trail were re-designated, lengthening the former by and shortening the latter by . This redesignation also resulted in the Taconic Crest Trail marked as non-motorized and the Taconic Skyline trail as motorized/ multi-use. The Taconic Trails are supported by Massachusetts' Commonwealth Connections greenway initiative, as well as the efforts of various conservation and recreation non-profit organizations in the four-state Taconic region.

References

*''Massachusetts Trail Guide'' (2004). Boston:

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., wit ...

.
Commonwealth Connections proposal PDF download
Retrieved March 2, 2008. {{US-trail-stub Hiking trails in Massachusetts Hiking trails in Connecticut Hiking trails in Vermont Hiking trails in New York (state) Taconic Mountains