About the Trail
The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) is a 235-mile hiking trail route that has been in existence for over half a century. The NET travels through 41 communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and is comprised primarily of the historic Mattabesett, Metacomet, and Monadnock (M-M-M) Trail systems (View Map).
The NET was designated on March 30, 2009 as part of Public Law 111-11 (Section 5202). The law references the Trail Management Blueprint described in the report titled the ‘Metacomet Monadnock Mattabesett Trail System National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment’, prepared by the National Park Service, and dated Spring 2006, as the framework for trail management and administration.
Since receiving federal designation in 2009, there have been some noteworthy changes to the historic route, including a four-mile extension to Long Island Sound in Connecticut and a 22+ mile eastward deviation from the historic Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Massachusetts.
The NET travels through classic New England landscape, features: long-distance vistas with rural towns as a backdrop, agrarian lands, unfragmented forests, and large river valleys. The trail also travels through colonial historical landmarks and highlights a range of diverse ecosystems and natural resources: mountain ridges and summits, forested glades, wetlands and vernal pools, lakes, streams and waterfalls.