I don't have the familiarity with conditions there that you are seeking, but my general suggestion would be that if you want to ride efficiently, you create a route track on something like ride with GPS and then follow it using voice navigation on a GPS head unit or a phone. You might of course see what route files others have created before creating your own, though do expect to need to do some modification (unfortunately imported routes may have too many trackpoints to be realistically editable, compared to routes that have just enough control points to nail down the desired turns)
You can try distance based reckoning with a wheel counter cycle computer and a printed cuesheet, but this typically takes more time. Even with voice navigation however, it's good to have the printed backup.
In some areas of Connecticut I've seen turns of the ECG marked with subtle little 4 inch square signs having their logo, but I wouldn't count on that.
Using streetview to checkout key sections, or at least where non-road portions cross roads can also be helpful - at the lower edge of the window you'll see the date of the imagery (which can sometimes change drastically with just slight movement). Doing that for example, what looks on Google Map's cycling layer like a nice straight line option (but not part of the ECG) turns out to be a powerline cut that's overgrown and possibly(?) posted - if usable at all, it would be more of an adventure than an efficient through route.
Also worth checking the Strava global heatmap to see where people are going.