All stories

15 stops in route order. Everything is readable and playable here, whether or not you're on the trail.

• 1

  The reason this trail feels so unusually flat is…

  History

  The reason this trail feels so unusually flat is simple: you're walking on an old railroad grade. Trains hate steep hills, so 19th-century engineers did the hard work of creating the gentle route you're enjoying now.

  Listen Replay

  Best-effort placement along estimated route reconstructed from public trail maps/descriptions

• 2Notice how the path holds nearly the same elevation as…
  Nature
• 3Farnum Pike marks one end of the traditional Stillwater…
  Water
• 4Capron Road is the other end of the classic route
  Industry
• 5Stillwater Pond - also called Stillwater Reservoir -…
  Water
• 6The dams along this corridor weren't built just to make…
  Water
• 7When water is moving strongly, listen for the small…
  Water
• 8Look closely around the corridor and you can find…
  Water
• 9This whole valley was part of a…
  Water
• 10Stillwater Reservoir became part of a larger reservoir…
  Water
• 11That means this peaceful pond was essentially an…
  Water
• 12The broad water and wet shoreline attract birds that…
  Water
• 13Turtles and frogs also benefit from the slow water and…
  Water
• 14Because the old railroad engineers already flattened…
  Water
• 15A World War I plaque along the corridor connects the…
  History