About the Trail

The Ashland Upper Charles Trail is a multi-use trail project – in the development phase as of early 2019. The AUCT will ultimately be part of a 5-town 25-mile regional loop known as the Upper Charles Trail. Milford and Holliston have completed extensive sections of the trail.  Hopkinton and Sherborn are also working on their pieces of the puzzle. Ashland’s section will complete the loop and provide access to two state parks and the MBTA commuter rail system. Within the town, the trail will also connect downtown Ashland, the middle and high schools and the route 126 commercial zone. The plan is for a paved and fully accessible route that is primarily off-road and separated from traffic.

In late 2014, the Ashland Board of Selectmen appointed a town committee charged with identifying a potential route for Ashland’s section of the regional trail and determining whether construction is possible. The town hired Alta Planning and Engineering to conduct a feasibility study in 2017 which determined that the project, while challenging in many ways, is feasible. As of early 2019, the probable route has been identified, the town has secured access to important pieces of it and the committee has begun fund raising for the engineering and construction phases of development.