The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) is a National Scenic Trail in southern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, which includes most of the three single trails

Metacomet-Monadnock Trail The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (M&M Trail) is a hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Although less than from Boston and ...

Mattabesett Trail The Mattabesett Trail is a long, hook-shaped Blue-Blazed Trails, blue-blazed hiking trail in central Connecticut and a part of the New England National Scenic Trail. One half of the trail follows the high traprock ridges of the Metacomet Ridge, ...

and

Metacomet Trail The Metacomet Trail is a '' Blue-Blazed'' hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of central Connecticut and is a part of the newly designated New England National Scenic Trail. Despite being easily accessible and close to large populatio ...

. After the Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett trail system, the trail is sometimes called the Triple-M Trail. The route extends through 41 communities from

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the Connecticut seacoast. The population was 22,073 at the 2020 census. History Guilfo ...

, at

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

over the Metacomet Ridge, through the highlands of the Pioneer Valley of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to the New Hampshire state border. (The remainder of the M-M Trail to the summit of

Mount Monadnock Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County. It lies southwest of Concord a ...

in southern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

is not included in the designation.) This includes a now (2013) complete connector trail (the

Menunkatuck Trail The Menunkatuck Trail is an '' Blue-Blazed'' hiking trail in Guilford, Connecticut, Guilford, Connecticut and, currently, is almost entirely on protected land owned by the Town of Guilford, the Guilford Conservation Land Trust, the Regional Water ...

) from the southernmost location of the

(in northern Guilford, Connecticut) to the sea (Long Island Sound) and a deviation of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Massachusetts, to lead the trail through state-owned land instead of largely unprotected land. The trail is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, and managed by two non-profit and member-volunteer based organizations: the Connecticut Forest and Park Association in Connecticut, and the Appalachian Mountain Club in Massachusetts. The trail is maintained by the volunteers of these organizations.

History

In 2000, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

authorized the

to research the new trail composed of the

, and

in Connecticut and Massachusetts. This was backed by Public Law 107-338 (signed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in December 2002). The argument, as testified before Congress, was that the preservation of the trail system as a recreational resource is only possible through its joint protection. The draft study was concluded in April 2006, published and made available for public review and comment. At this time, the trail was referred to as the MMM Trail (Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett). Public meetings in Connecticut and Massachusetts on September 26 and 27, 2006, respectively, yielded large support for the project and inquired about trail use and management, and alternative trail routes. In March 2007,

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

John Olver ( D- MA) introduced the ''New England Scenic Trail Designation Act''. Co-sponsors were the Democratic representatives Richard Neal (D-MA),

John B. Larson John Barry Larson (born July 22, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1999. The district is based in the state capital, Hartford. A member of the D ...

(D- CT), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT); a companion bill was introduced by Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

. The bill, proposed amending the National Trail System Act to add the Monadnock, Metacomet and Mattabesett (MMM or triple-M) Trail System as a National Scenic Trail, was passed by the House of Representatives in 2008. This measure was subsequently rolled into the

Omnibus Public Land Management Act The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President of the United States, President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of ...

of 2009, which was signed into law by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

on March 30, 2009. The act established three new national scenic trails, including the New England National Scenic Trail. On March 30, 2009, the New England Scenic Trail was officially designated by United States Public Law 111-11 Section 5202. This section defines the trail as extending from Long Island Sound in Guilford, Connecticut, to the Massachusetts / New Hampshire border. But it also encourages talks with New Hampshire officials and municipalities so as to enable future expansion to Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. Since the designation in 2009 there have been two significant changes to the trail. In 2010, a north-south connector (the

) was built from the southernmost point on the Mattabesset Trail section, extending eleven miles south in Guilford, Connecticut. In 2012 and 2013 the remaining four miles to Long Island Sound was completed, primarily traversing the historic central downtown Guilford district south to the town harbor. Lake Wyola State Park public beach

Also, in Massachusetts in 2012 and 2013 of the NET's Metacomet-Monadnock trail sections were re-routed. These sections (Massachusetts' NET sections 10-14 and part of 15) had been interrupted for a number of years due to issues where the MM passed through private land (from just northeast of the Holyoke Range north to Massachusetts' Wendell State Forest). These NET/MM sections generally parallel both

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

and the western shore of

Quabbin Reservoir The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greate ...

. The re-routed section (MA NET 10 -

Belchertown, MA Belchertown (previously known as Cold Spring and Belcher's Town) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,350 at the 2020 censu ...

) from the eastern descent of the Holyoke Range to the Scarborough Pond Conservation Area now constitutes the longest "road walk" on the Massachusetts portion of the NET.

References

External links

New England Trail (NET) website

NET map

NET Feasibility Study

NET Executive Summary
{{TrailSystem Hiking trails in Massachusetts Hiking trails in Connecticut Hiking trails in New Hampshire National Scenic Trails of the United States Protected areas established in 2009 2009 establishments in Connecticut 2009 establishments in Massachusetts