This fall Farmington Valley Trail Council was awarded two grants for projects along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.

The first grant award was from the  John G. Martin Foundation, a private foundation located in West Hartford, Connecticut named after John Gilbert Martin. Mr. Martin was the grandson of  Heublein’s founder, Gilbert F. Heublein,  and  president of the Hartford based Heublein,  when in 1939  it acquired, for $14,000, the rights to a struggling liquor company named Smirnoff.  The foundation’s mission focuses on education, public service, the arts and recreation.  This $48,000 grant award will be used to build an open-air shelter along the trail in either Avon or Simsbury.  We plan on replicating the shelter along the Farmington River Trail in Farmington. ( photo courtesy of Tim Bowman).

Our second grant award came from the State of CT DEEP Recreational Trails Grant, providing $38,000 for a mile marker and wayfinding signage project.

This grant will help fund the design and installation of signs along the 56-mile Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (excluding Hamden and Plainville). The project will include mile markers every half mile, from the boathouse in New Haven to the Massachusetts border in Suffield, as well as directional street signs at major road crossings. 

Mile markers will help walkers, runners, and cyclists know exactly where they are on the trail and make it easier to give their location in an emergency, helping first responders find them more quickly. They will provide an easy way to track distances and fitness goals, while directional signs will help connect the trail to nearby towns, parks, and local businesses. Better signage will also make the trail more welcoming and less confusing, especially for first-time visitors, and infrequent local users. 

Our hope is that this project will make the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail safer, more accessible, and more enjoyable for the many people who use it.