Fall is one of my favorite times to hike. It’s not too hot and not too cold. Goldilocks would approve. There are some other advantages too including stunning views not impaired by mosquitoes. The conditions are ideal. Unfortunately, since we’ve had a busy few months, we haven’t been hiking as much this season as we would like. So, when we recently went to Belfast for an overnight visit, our first stop was to the Belfast Rail Trail for a quick hike.

After a sad mishap where one of our iPhones went swimming in the lake, we had to make an emergency visit to the wireless store for a temporary replacement. The unplanned stop meant a delayed start to Belfast and by the time we arrived, darkness was only an hour or so away.  This meant we had to do an abridged hike since we were racing the coming darkness.

To save time, we headed to the mid-point of the trail at the Upper Bridge parking lot on High Street. From there the trail parallels the Passagassawakeag River and leads to the City Point Central Railroad Museum.

The trail is easy and friendly for all ages with a wide level path, covered in crushed stone. The trail, which is bordered by trees on both sides, was covered in fall colors. It looks like it’s a busy trail as we passed other hikers many with dogs in tow.

While it would have been nice to do a longer hike, we enjoyed getting out and spending some times on such a beautiful trail.  It was a nice way to kick of our mini-vacation to Belfast.