The Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail, formerly the Norwottuck Rail Trail, is an 11-mile (18 km) combination bicycle/pedestrian paved rail trail running from Northampton, Massachusetts, through Hadley and Amherst, to Belchertown, Massachusetts. It opened in 1992, and is now part of the longer Mass Central Rail Trail.
The rail bed under which the trail operated opened in 1887 under the control of the Central Massachusetts Railroad. Shortly after its completion, it was leased by the Boston and Maine Railroad and referred to as the Central Massachusetts Branch. Three round trip passenger trains were run in the 1920s, as well as numerous freight trains. Competition from cars and trucks caused a decline on the line, as passenger service was discontinued in 1932 and freight service managed to hang on for another forty-two years, primarily to deliver goods to a farmer's supply warehouse in Amherst.
The rail bed was acquired by the state in 1985 and developed into the trail in 1993, as its current name. The name of "Norwottuck" was the result of a suggestion by the Hadley Historical Commission, who believed that the name corresponded to the local Native American tribe, the Norwottucks. It was also the term for the entire area.