Mono Pond State Park master plan includes Connecticut’s first MTB trails on state lands

By Travis Reill

Mono Pond State Park will feature the first purpose-built mountain bike trails on state land in Connecticut, beginning with 4.4 miles of bike-optimized singletrack.

A 2020 land acquisition led by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) in Connecticut tripled the size of Mono Pond State Park. Moving forward, some six years later, TPL and the many partners involved in the project have developed a Master Plan for the park — namely, a 13-mile trail system. And, the new trails at Mono Pond will hold an interesting distinction for Connecticut. Upon completion, these will be the first purpose-built mountain biking trails on state land.

The first mountain biking trails?

Surely the state of Connecticut has mountain biking trails, right? Yes, they do, many of which we’ve covered. A couple of years ago, we spoke with Mick Ferraro, Director of Communications and Outreach for the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), about Satan’s Ridge. Clearly, the trail was built by mountain bikers for mountain biking.

But, despite its proximity to the Nepaug State Forest, Satan’s Ridge is on private land that borders the state forest. While accessing the trail requires passing through Nepaug, Satan’s Ridge isn’t actually located there.

In fact, no mountain-bike-specific trails are located on any Connecticut state land.