Avon – Simsbury has much to offer, from the sight of a small seventeenth-century English village that turns out to be a boys’ school to what must be the only secret bike path in Connecticut, known only to those who live near it and now you, dear reader.

The best place to start is from the parking lot at the Old Avon Village Shopping Center, which is located a short distance back from the southeast corner of the intersection of Routes 44 and 202, where 44 goes straight and 202 turns and goes north.

Come out of the parking lot, turn left using the sidewalk (walking your bike), go the short distance to the intersection of 44 and 202, and turn left onto Old Farms Road. You’re on your way!

In about 2 miles you’ll arrive at the entrance to Avon Old Farms School, which is marked by an enormous brick tower. Pass the tower and turn left into the driveway and ride up to the main building. This boys’ school is built in the style of an Elizabethan village. It is an enchanting sight. Leave by the exit driveway, turn right at the gate, and ride the few yards to Scoville Road. Turn left onto Scoville; in ½ mile, turn right onto Burnham Road. When Burnham forms a T with West Avon Road (Route 167), turn right.

Cross Route 44 and head toward Simsbury on Route 167 (now called Bushy Hill Road). There is a long incline on this stretch. You’ll pass the Ethel Walker School, cross Stratton Brook Road, and, in about a mile, come to the T intersection with Route 309. Within a few feet of this intersection, on the left side of Route 167, there is a small opening in the trees. This is the beginning of a hidden bike path, running for a mile straight to Stratton Brook State Park. Cross the road and get on it from Bickford Road (a private road – but not closed to bicycles!). The transition is swift and startling – from asphalt, traffic, and noise to the hush of a leafy wonderland. The trail of hard-packed earth ends at the lake in the center of the park. Here you may swim, hike, and picnic. The rest rooms and dressing cubicles across the pond are closed after Labor  Day, but there’s no need to hide behind a tree if you come later on. The park department has supplied two outhouses for those who like to ride in the fall or winter.

Return to Route 167 on the bike trail. As soon as you’re back on 167, turn right at the T with 309, heading towards Simsbury. At the stoplight marking the intersection of Routes 309 and 202, you have a choice: turn right and head toward Avon, 4 miles away, or take a left and detour through the town of Simsbury and visit the Massacoh Plantation, an interesting museum on Simsbury’s Main Street. After returning to the intersection of Routes 309 and 202, proceed south on 202. A sidewalk along this stretch of highway should be used since the road is narrow and heavily traveled. This section of Route 202 runs parallel to the Farmington River, hidden off to your left, flowing to the foot of a high ridge, which comes into a magnificent view about a mile down 202. The tall tower, rising 165 feet above the ridge, was once the summer home of the Heublein family.

Back in Avon, turn right on Fisher Driver, which is just before Sperry Park on the left side of Route 202, and left onto Ensign Drive and you’ll soon see the renovated factory complex now harboring Avon Park and the Farmington Arts Center. The town offices are also here – complete with rest rooms. There are exhibits in the gallery of the Arts Center and artists’ studios in the adjoining brownstones. (This delightful complex used to be a fuse factory!) Go out the park’s exist to Route 44, turn left, and return to the Old Avon Village Shopping Center 1-1/2 blocks away.

TAKEN FROM

Short Bike Rides in Connecticut (Fifth Edition), written by Edwin Mullen and Jane Griffith

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