The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail runs through the Massachusetts communities of Lowell, Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, Sudbury, and Framingham—following the 25-mile route of the old New Haven Railroad Framingham and Lowell line. It is open to non-motorized uses such as cycling, jogging, walking, rollerblading, and cross-country skiing and is stewarded by the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

Bruce N. Freeman was a State Representative from Chelmsford from 1969 until his death in 1986. In June 1985, the first formal meeting was held to discuss creation of a recreational trail along the abandoned Penn Central railroad line from Lowell to Sudbury, which at the time was referred to as the Lowell-Sudbury Rail Trail (or Bike Path). Freeman was one of the participants in that meeting and continued to champion the cause in the State Legislature for the remainder of his life.

Carol C. Cleven was elected to Freeman’s vacated seat in the Legislature. In her first speech to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1987, she introduced a bill creating a bike path in his honor as a lasting memorial to his service. In April 1989, Governor Michael Dukakis signed H.1455 into law, thereby establishing the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

Photo courtesy of the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail