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Trail is owned and managed by Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Management
Maintenance and local coordination provided by Coldbrook
Snowmobile Club.
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USGS
Topographic map of Templeton
USGS
Aerial photograph of Templeton
Trail description is from South to North!
Looking south along the trail across the Route 101
crossing.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
Looking south along the trail behind the ruins of the
Templeton Depot.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
Looking at the back side of the ruins of the Templeton
Depot.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
The tower of an abandoned cement plant on the south side of
Route 2A conceals the ruins of the Templeton Depot.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
The high water tower of the Glenwood Kitchens factory on
the north side of Route 2A is the most visible landmark for the rail-trail.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
Looking south from the dead end of the trail at the Route 2
embankment.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
The rail-trail is clearly open for public use south of the Templeton Depot on Route 2A.
The trail is also open north of the depot, but only as far as the massive embankment for the Interstate-quality State Route 2.
The Webmaster's quick field-check suggests that 'street legal' trail users can bypass this blockage by leaving the trail at Templeton Station and traveling east on Route 2A to the Templeton Common (0.7 mi.), then north on the Baldwinville-Templeton Road across Route 2 at exit 20 (1.0 mile), then continuing north on Main St. to a point just north of the end of Baptist Common Road (0.8 mile), then returning west downhill to the railroad bed on a narrow gravel road (0.3 mi).
The First Church of Templeton near the Town Common.
The intersection of Main St and an unnamed woods road that
begins near the end of Baptist Common Road.
Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on August 28, 2000.
The Coldbrook Snowmobile Club suggests that warm weather 'street legal' trail users likewise leave the trail at Templeton Station, travel west on Route 2A to the Route 2 underpass (1.2 mi.), then east on the club-maintained trail through Templeton State Forest and otherwise along the north bottom edge of the Route 2 embankment to the railroad bed.
Note that the Coldbrook Snowmobile Club also maintains a trail along the south bottom edge of the Route 2 embankment between the railroad bed and the Route 2A underpass, but that trail passes through a gravel pit that is active during the warm weather months and thus for safety reasons is open only to snowmobiles!
Montachusett
Regional Transit Authority operates 'Link Route 2' on weekdays between
Gardner and Orange with scheduled stops at the Templeton Common and the King
Phillip Restaurant. Potential trail users should contact MRTA to inquire
whether the bus will also stop on signal
on Route 2A at the rail-trail crossing (Glenwood Kitchens) as well as at the Route 2 underpass.
Link route busses connect in Gardner each other and also with rush-hour
runs to Fitchburg to connect with MBTA
Commuter Trains to Boston. This route also connects with Franklin
Regional Transit Authority 'Link Route 1' at Athol and Orange for service to
Greenfield. Note
that MRTA busses do not accommodate bicycles!
Parking may be available on an informal basis at the Glenwood
Kitchens Factory, if cars are positioned to avoid inconvenience to factory
workers and showroom visitors. Parking may also be available near
the abandoned cement tower and the ruins of the Templeton Depot.
No other trail facilities were observed in the immediate vicinity of the rail-trail!
The following are convenient only for folks that use the Baldwinville-Templeton Road to bypass the blockage of the Rail-trail by the Route 2 embankment.
An old fashioned country store just south of the Templeton Common offers limited
groceries, cold sandwiches, snacks and beverages. A phone is outside. The
Webmaster failed to inquire whether toilets and water are available upon
request.
Listed on the National Register of
Historic Places:
Templeton Common Historic District - Athol, Gardner, Hubbardston, Dudley, Wellington, and South Rds., Templeton.
