Welcome to the

French River Greenway

First proposed in 1990, The French River Greenway is a trail system joining the Quinebaug Rail Trail to the Midstate Trail. It traverses the communities of Dudley, Oxford and Webster Massachusetts. The trail is currently in the conceptual stage of development, with further planning managed by a steering committee. Most of the French River Greenway is on private but unused land, although town-owned land is used where possible. By connecting to a former trolley line route in Thompson, Connecticut, a significant loop is possible. While partly urban, much of the Greenway is in areas where it will afford habitat protection and a nature experience for users, both of which may otherwise be lost to re-industrailization of the river corridor. It protects cultural heritage sites as well that remain from the area's industrial heyday.

The Steering Committee consists of representatives from:

The French River Connection

The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission

The Quinebaug-Shetucket National Heritage Corridor

The Massachusetts Riverways Program

The Midstate Trail Committee

The Dudley Rail-Trail Committee

The Oxford Open Space Committee

The Dudley Conservation Land Trust

The US Army Corps of Engineers

The Webster Recreation Committee

The Bay State Trail Riders

The Central Mass. Striders

Massachusetts Riverways

The Grand Trunk Trailblazers

Many French River Revitalization Concepts, including the trail, are discussed in a document prepared by the French River Connection and the University of Connecticut.

A more detailed map is also available, and clicking on the green hot-spots displays additional information.

Check these documents:

Greenway Prospectus

Riverwalk Prospectus

Leovich Landing

Our Vision: The French River Corridor extends 26 miles from its source in Leicester MA to its confluence with the Quinebaug in Thompson CT.  After passing through the Army Corps Hodges Village project in Oxford, and a long, secluded, narrow reach, the river enters a broad, wild area bordered by marshes and coves, providing significant wildlife habitat. Farther south, the river becomes the border of Dudley and Webster.  Here the river is bordered by industrial complexes. South of the Webster town center, the river again enters a wooded corridor, passes the wastewater treatment plant and the historic Perryville area with its granite block dam, and exits the state.

Once heavily used and polluted, the river corridor has had decades to recover, but might be lost again to redevelopment of its banks if action is not taken.   Our vision is of a French River Corridor that is a valuable community resource for residents and an attraction to visitors. Leaders in many communities throughout the United States, including some very nearby such as Putnam and Thompson CT, have had the same ideas and have protected and preserved their river corridors for future generations by engaging landowners, officials , and the public in such a vision.

Our vision includes:

A Greenway Trail which not only provides unmotorized recreational opportunities, but includes preservation of abutting natural landscapes for the benefit of native species

Links to other regional trails

Car-top access to the river for paddlers and fisherman through the development of a companion "Blueway"

Development of natural and cultural points of interest along the trail to make them safe, accessible, and informative

Improvement of urban riverfront as a catalyst to economic revitalization

Development of a shared positive identity for French River communities

The Quinbaug Rail Trail crossing the French River, part of the Perryville Loop

The Greenway trail north of Collins Cove on the Webster-Oxford border

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