Newtown Lands $170,000 State Grant to Extend the Housatonic Rail Trail

A new stretch of trail in the Housatonic Valley just got its funding secured — and for Brookfield residents who hike, bike, or walk with the dog, it means the region's trail map keeps getting bigger.

The Town of Newtown has been awarded a $170,000 state grant from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's 2026 Recreational Trails Grant program to support continued construction of the Housatonic Valley Rail Trail extension. State Representative Mitch Bolinsky, who represents Newtown's 106th Assembly District, announced the award this week. The grant is one of 50 trail awards the state made this year, according to the Governor's Office.

What the money builds is the next section of a trail that is slowly stitching itself across southwestern Connecticut. Construction is already underway to join the new trail with the existing Pequonnock River Trail at Newtown's southern border with Monroe. Once that section is finished, riders and walkers in Newtown will be able to follow connected trails as far south as Beardsley Park & Zoo in Bridgeport — with the shore itself a possibility down the road.

Getting the trail to this point took years of behind-the-scenes work. Before any dirt could move, Newtown had to line up agreements with the Housatonic Railroad Company, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation for access to an unused rail spur off the old Maybrook Line. The end result was a no-cost, perpetual agreement that made the trail possible on railroad land.

"Investing in recreational trails is an investment in the vitality of our community, and will bring visitors," Bolinsky said in the announcement, crediting Newtown's Bike & Trail Committee — and longtime trail advocate Greg Carnrick in particular — for pushing the project forward. He also pointed to the bigger picture: Newtown's delegation supports tying the town's trails into the 750-mile Empire State Trail via the Maybrook Rail Trail and the 81-mile Farmington Canal Trail that runs from New Haven to Northampton, Massachusetts.

Why should Brookfield care? Brookfield sits right in the middle of the Housatonic Valley, between trail communities to the north and Newtown to the southeast. Each new section that opens is another option within a short drive — and another step toward a genuinely connected regional network instead of a patchwork of short, isolated paths. With the Still River Greenway's bridges closed through today for repairs, it's a good reminder of how much this town relies on its trails — and how welcome it is when the network around it grows.