"May this trail remind us that when we invest in connection, we build not only better paths, but stronger communities." Select Board Chair Janie Dretler said that on July 16 at the ribbon cutting for the Mass Central Rail Trail. The ceremony was held at the "diamond junction," where it crosses the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail near Union Avenue. In its write-up, Sudbury Weekly noted that the official opening might make people laugh a little, since the trail had been busy ever since most of the paving was finished last year.
This October is the first fall with both trails open through town. Their crossing point matters more than the ceremony did. The two trails meet in South Sudbury, about 1.5 miles south of the historic Town Center, at a spot that has 9 to 10 formal parking spaces. Sudbury's trail system now runs through a crossroads sized for a handful of cars. So the easiest fall weekend starts somewhere else and gets to the junction by trail.
Four directions, ten parking spaces
The town's own description is short. The Bruce Freeman runs north to south, the Mass Central runs east to west, and they meet at the Diamond Junction "near Union Ave. and the former little train depot." In late summer the town formalized those 9 to 10 spaces. The Rail Trails Advisory Committee has also been talking with landowners along the Chiswick Park driveway about adding parking that both trails could share. That idea is still under discussion and has not been approved. The local Mass Central guide mentions a little more parking along Station Avenue at Union Avenue, says there is none at the Eversource driveway, and sends overflow to Town Center.
The junction does have one asset many trailheads lack. One of two accessible restrooms paid for by the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is there. The other is at the Broadacres Farm lot.
| Starting point | Address | Trail | What's there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Field | 195 North Road, Route 117 | Bruce Freeman | Listed parking |
| Broadacres Farm | 62 Morse Road | Bruce Freeman | Parking, accessible restroom |
| Parkinson Field | 42–44 Hudson Road | Bruce Freeman | Listed parking |
| Diamond Junction | Near Union Ave. and the old depot | Both | 9 to 10 formal spaces, accessible restroom |
| Station Avenue at Union Ave. | Station Avenue | Mass Central | Nearby street parking |
| Eversource driveway | Near the Wayland line | Mass Central | No parking |
Broadacres has two addresses depending on the source. The Friends list 62 Morse Road for trail parking. The town's conservation page puts the farm parcel's large gravel lot at 82 Morse Road and describes fields, woods, wetlands and trails for walking and birdwatching. If you start there, the walk itself can be the outing.
Coffee Works sets the clock
The trail guide says there's a coffee shop, food stores and restaurants about a quarter mile south of the junction on Union Avenue. It also warns that Union Avenue is a busy road. The one confirmed stop is Sudbury Coffee Works at 15 Union Avenue. It's open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it's closed Sunday. For a junction ride, that schedule decides when you go. If you want a café stop, go Saturday morning. A Sunday loop means bringing your own thermos.
Those hours may change. On September 9, owner Roksana Sasanfar asked the Board of Health for a food service variance so she could add dinner. The board voted for it unanimously. Sudbury Weekly reported that this is "the initial, not the final, step." The Health Department still has to review the menu, and seating limits tied to the site's septic capacity stay in place. Sasanfar has run a Persian restaurant in Watertown for 15 years. She described the planned dinner as a short Persian menu, served Monday through Saturday at first, with Sundays possible later. If it happens, a 3 p.m. turnaround at the junction becomes an evening ride.
Westbound from the junction, by the mileposts
The Mass Central guide counts mileage west to east, starting at the point where Sudbury, Marlborough and Hudson meet. Here are the stops in reverse, heading west from the junction:
- Mile 3.0, Sudbury Station and the Diamond crossing. This is the start, with the old station on the south side of the tracks.
- Mile 1.9, the granite marker. On the left is an old stone post carved "B21/N83," for 21 miles to North Station in Boston and 83 miles to Northampton on the old Mass Central Railroad.
- Mile 1.0, Dutton Road. This was the Wayside Inn train stop. According to the guide, Babe Ruth lived nearby and caught the train to Boston here.
- Mile 0.7, Hop Brook wetlands.
- Mile 0.6, the forest turnoff. Trails go south into Memorial Forest, which has pine barrens and what the guide calls a "desert" area, and north to the town's Hop Brook Marsh.
Going east from the junction is shorter. The Section Toolhouse is at mile 3.2, a long wetland crossing over Hop Brook is at 3.5, and the Eversource lot at the Wayland line is at 4.3. The guide mentions blue herons, turtles and glacial features along the route. In 2024, Sudbury Weekly covered the town's proposal to buy the toolhouse and the station from the MBTA while negotiations were still going. We couldn't confirm whether either building is open inside, so plan to see them from the trail.
The Wayside Inn is two miles off the trail, and October is busy there
The Dutton Road stop is the closest the trail gets to Longfellow's Wayside Inn. The inn is about two miles south on Dutton Road, on the road and not on a path. According to the Wayside Inn Foundation, the grounds at 72 Wayside Inn Road are open dawn to dusk. Lunch and dinner are served Wednesday through Saturday, and Sunday dining runs from noon to 7:30 p.m.
Apple Fest took place on October 3. These events are still ahead:
- Thursday, October 15: Fall Cigar Dinner with whiskey tastings and a BBQ buffet
- Friday, October 23: Jerusha's Halloween Ball, 21 and over, with a costume contest and music
- Thursday, October 29: A ticketed evening with the inn's archivist on the story of Jerusha Howe and the inn's ghost
- Friday, November 20: Ladies Night Out, with shopping and a wine dinner
The Grist Mill is part of the historic campus, but we couldn't find posted October or November hours for the mill. Call before you plan on going inside.
Hudson is a destination ride
You can now bike west from the junction to downtown Hudson. It's a real ride with some street riding at the end. Using the guide's mileposts, the junction is about 6.3 trail miles from the Mass Central's Wilkins Street connection with the Assabet River Rail Trail. From there, the route goes south to Broad Street and then takes South Street and Houghton Street to Main Street. Hudson's trail page says the western section is still in design and that the interim route uses busy roads.
Hudson's Main and South Streets are its dining district. The Discover Hudson directory lists Rail Trail Flatbread Co. at 33 Main Street, Medusa Brewing Company at 111 Main Street with Taco Gato food, Less Than Greater Than at 28 Main Street, Kith & Kin at 38–40 Washington Street, and Café 641 at 234 Washington Street. Those listings were posted in 2024. Check hours with each place before riding more than six miles for lunch.
North on the Freeman, with the plaza still waiting
All 4.4 miles of the Bruce Freeman in Sudbury are open. MassDOT handed maintenance to the town in July 2026. There's one exception: the access ramp and plaza at the Broadacres Farm lot on Morse Road still need accessibility work. MassDOT District 3 is expected to schedule a formal opening once that's done. The Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail commissioned a sculpture for that plaza, and it's in storage in Sudbury until it can be installed. The town has said it hopes to hold the grand opening later this fall but hasn't set a date.
The town's memo also brings up road crossings. Drivers and residents have reported people on foot and bike crossing busy roads without stopping or pressing the flashing beacons. The advisory committee worked with the Police Department on new yard signs along the trail that tell users to push the beacon button. Signal timing at Peakham and Hudson Roads has caused enough problems that Public Works Director Tina Rivard recommended a corridor study of Hudson Road.
Past the Concord line, West Concord Center has trail parking near Nashoba Brook and seasonal public restrooms at Gerow Park, 369 Commonwealth Avenue. On Tuesday, October 27, the Friends' Trek or Treat ride covers two miles from behind Beharrell Street in West Concord to the East Acton Village Green, with treats and music at the end.
The junction gets busier from here
Each planned extension adds to the same crossing. The next Mass Central phase will run east from its current end near Landham Road, cross the Sudbury River and reach Wayland Center. Construction is expected to start in 2028. Bruce Freeman Phase 3 will add about 1.5 miles south from the junction to Eaton Road West in Framingham. Its design plans include a new parking lot and trailhead on Nobscot Road and an accessible side path down to view the old cattle pass under the railbed near the town line. The engineers, Fuss & O'Neill, plan to submit the plans to the Conservation Commission later this fall. The town's sources don't agree on the construction funding years. The project page says federal fiscal years 2029 and 2030. The late-summer memo says the regional Transportation Improvement Program covers federal fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Either way, once Nobscot Road opens, South Sudbury will have trail parking on both sides of the Diamond Junction.
Trail access is changing how Sudbury's south side gets around, and the Nobscot Road trailhead and the Wayland extension will keep that going for years. If you want to know how a specific street relates to the trails as they stand now and as they're planned, Rachel Lieberman follows these projects closely and can walk you through it. Schedule a strategy call.
