One of the best ways you can experience everything that Hartford has to offer is on your bike. Because our city is smaller than most, it’s incredibly easy to hop on your bike and ride from one neighborhood to another, taking in the best eats, views, and art along the way.
Our Favorite Rides
Photo by @always_sunny_at
Downtown Hartford
Begin riding down Capitol Avenue towards the Capitol Building, and make stops at some Hartford gems. Right before you hit the intersection of Capitol and Broad, be sure to stop in Frog Hollow to grab a coffee from Story and Soil, an ice cream cone from Capital Ice Cream, or a snack and a beer from Red Rock Tavern.
Continue down Capitol Avenue and hang a left on Main Street and then a right on Atheneum Square. This will bring you to Calder’s Stegosaurus, and will also connect you to the East Coast Greenway.
Follow the East Coast Greenway to Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, part of Riverfront Recapture. From here, you can travel along the river to Charter Oak Landing, taking in some of the best views of the Connecticut River.
Once you hit Charter Oak Landing, you can double back on Van Dyke Avenue to make stops at Thomas Hooker Brewery and Hooker Live, catch a Hartford Athletic game, or spend some time in Colt Park!
West End of Hartford
Start your ride at West Boulevard and Prospect Avenue (feel free to grab a beer at the Spigot, if you’d like).
Head north on Prospect Avenue until you get to Asylum Ave. You can either take a left or a right into Elizabeth Park (pro tip: the roses in Elizabeth Park begin blooming in early June, which is one of Hartford’s most popular photo ops).
Once you’ve finished spending time in the park, take Whitney Street back over to West Boulevard.
Don’t forget to look around at all of the gorgeous historic West End homes!
Photo by @ekstrachrispy
North End of Hartford
The best spot to ride in the North End? Keney Park. Ride Scarborough Street north until Albany Avenue, and take a right on Albany.
Continue down Albany, and take a left on Westbourne Parkway.
Follow Westbourne Parkway directly into Keney Park, and visit their pond house, their golf course, and Keney Park Sustainability Project!
South End of Hartford
Begin at Franklin Avenue and Maple Street.
Continue south down Franklin Avenue, and make you take the time to stop and grab menus (or a bite) from one of the many restaurants on the street.
Take a right on South Street, and continue west to Goodwin Park.
Ride through Goodwin Park, and grab a beer at the Hangar (you deserve it).
Exit Goodwin Park on Maple Avenue, and head back to the intersection of Maple and Franklin!
Our Favorite Biking Resources
Photo by @bici_gram
BiCi Co.
BiCi Co. is part of the Center for Latino Progress and provides an opportunity to improve youth and adult safety, sustainable transportation, youth programs, mechanics classes, job training, and bicycles. Bici is short for bicicleta (bicycle) and Co. stands for comunidad (community). They’re also a great community to be a part of if biking is your passion—they host Slow Roll Rides, Internships, and also attend Hartford Complete Streets Task Force Meetings to ensure that the voices of residents that walk, bike, and take transit in our city are supported in street design projects.
Bike Walk CT
Bike Walk CT is a member-supported non-profit organization that is working to change the culture of transportation through advocacy and education to make biking and walking safe, feasible, and attractive for a healthier and cleaner CT. BWCT is the only organization of its kind working at a state level. Through donations and memberships, BWCT is able to advocate and work for CT’s cities and towns to make them safer for walking, biking, and alternative modes of transportation. BWCT is the central hub for bike/walk information, events, and education. If you would like CT to be a safer place to walk and bike or you would just like to participate in their many events, head to their website to join!
DominGO! Hartford
The fourth Sunday of each month, from June to September of 2022, will be a DominGO! Hartford day. On DominGO! days, 2–3 miles of Hartford streets will be temporarily transformed into car-free public spaces, connecting communities and creating new places for fun, healthy activity for all ages and abilities! At DominGO!, streets will be open for everyone to enjoy our neighborhoods by walking, running, biking, exercising, visiting local businesses, and playing with friends!
As you travel around the city on your bike, don’t forget to tag us @experiencehartford in your pics! We can’t wait to see what you explore.
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