[su_spoiler title=”January” open=”yes” style=”fancy”]
- Moss Tract – Quick return visit after discovering it’s hidden waterfall to check out the south section trails
- Quinebaug Trail – Thru hiked the trail on a warm January day for about 17 miles round trip overlapping with heavy dirt bike presence
- Hidden Valley Preserve – Revisited this great property hitting all the highlights from cave to river view to overlook
- Steep Rock Preserve – The trail to overlook was closed on my last visit so I returned for it’s fantastic view before returning once more to the tunnel
- Giuffrida Park – Hiked the Metacomet Ridge and returned along the reservoir in the standard rugged loop
- Westfield Falls – Quick stop on a cold windy day to check in on the falls
- Sleeping Giant State Park – Rehiked some of my favorite trails since I didn’t visit the Giant at all in 2022 [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”February” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Mount Higby – Hiked this section of the Mattabesett Trail on a rainy morning and made a movie of the views
- Lewis Farm Bird Sanctuary – There are a fair number of trails tucked in this small property, I particularly enjoyed the curved bridge over the river here
- Will Warren’s Den– The trail was a bit of a mud pit in the spring, but the views are always worth it
- West Mountain Property – Caught Cathles Falls and the great overlook but didn’t have time to complete the full loop here
- Mary Edwards Mountain Property – The first view is the best view, the trails are rugged, and I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised
- Godard Preserve – Connected down to this preserve from Mary Edwards and the trails along the brooks provide peaceful hiking
- Sunset Rock State Park – Hiked this to discover that you’re exploring Crescent Lake and its trails and the state park property is untrailed to the north, but a great overlook from the ridge line [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”March” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Mansfield Hollow – Combining different loops here, still trying to discover new things at one of my most visited state parks
- Pigeon Swamp – Rehiked this property after a couple years on a sunny spring afternoon, trails were exactly the same as I remembered
- Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve – Lulled by the initial trails I was drawn in by the history and love the deep woods cabin and pond view
- Schoolhouse Brook Park – Rehiked sections on either side of the road to see that mountain bike trails have been developing over the years [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”April” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Sherwood Island State Park – First visit to one of CT’s uber popular beach parks, fun to walk the beach without the crowds
- Trout Brook Valley – I feel like I only got to explore a tiny portion of this large and varied park
- Kilkenny Rock – One of the few sections of the Metacomet I haven’t done before, fun hike that overlaps significantly with mountain bike trails
- Mono Pond State Park – Stopped here for a quick hike on a breezy morning
- Cotton Hollow Preserve – The ruins have been protected, but now the harder work of fundraising to preserve them begins
- Holcomb Farm – Explored what I could here, but access to the majority of trails washed away with a bridge that has yet to be replaced unfortunately
- Dewey-Granby Oak – First visit to this majestic old former champion tree
- Katan Ensor and Old Messenger Road Preserves – This new preserve is a real gem connecting multiple parcels, but the views were all fogged in due to rainy weather
- Shelter Falls – Last hike here was in 2018, this time I found an abandoned stretch of trail down to a small pond
- Sperry Falls – Got the timing just right to see these rare falls roaring after heavy rains
- Mahoney Pond – Poking around these old woods roads to find a simple forest loop
- Cedar Wood Preserve – Still a work in progress, but interesting trails that feel longer than their length
- Barrett Preserve – This property felt tucked away despite being surrounded by private property, the streams and bridges were a nice surprise [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”May” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Bush Hill Preserve – Did nearly a full loop of the property and stopped to explore the barn tag sale land trust fundraiser
- Stony Brooke Park – Hiked the northern stretch of trails, some of which are pretty overgrown
- Shafran Conservation Area – Last hike here was in 2018 and not much has changed, the cool clear streams here are perfect
- Tower Hill Preserve – Caught this just a couple days after its grand opening to find a well crafted trail with a surprise hidden waterfall
- Blackledge Falls – Quick hike up to the falls and then connected into the southern edge of Gay City before looping back
- Bigelow Hollow – Hiked the western perimeter and then along the East Ridge Trail, the parking was packed but we didn’t seen another person
- Pixie Falls – Backpacked out to see the well-crafted fairy house above the falls and did an overnight at the nearby backpacking site [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”June” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Thru-hike of the Shenipsit Trail – Hiked all 50.2 miles over two days during peak mountain laurel bloom
- Peterson Park – The start of the Mattatuck Trail here is perfect riverside trail
- Allanach-Wolf Woodlands – Finally revisited one of my old favorites to find trails have been officially extended and connect to Wolf Den Land Trust property
- Codfish Falls / Fenton Tract – Finally connected these two thanks to a fallen tree over the Fenton River to check out the rerouted Nipmuck Trail [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”July” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Woodtick Recreation Area – Great first hike doing the full loop around the Scoville Reservoir with great sights along the way
- Simpson Woods – Revisited this property after a couple years to find that trails are slowly getting overgrown
- Mt Hope Park – Still a short beautiful hike along the river, but still a shame the beavers have flooded the full loop connection
- White Memorial Conservation Center – Did the classic boarkwalk hike, which had a couple flooded sections, but removing my shoes gave me the boardwalk to myself
- Camp Columbia State Park – Last hiked this in the winter, so visited again in the summer, most just visit the tower so the hiking loop is overgrown [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”August” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Risley Park – A few years since my last visit, enjoyed the trails, enjoyed the bench on the far side of the pond even more
- Gay City State Park – Hiked the blue trail out to its Shenipsit connection and then back through the center of the park
- Goodwin State Forest – Out on the Natchaug Trail again, highlight of the hike was an owl among the pines
- Camp Aya-Po – Always try to rehike this one whenever I’m in the area
- Dart Hill North Hockanum River – First hike on the Hockanum River Trail as odd as Steve from CTMQ says but certainly has its moments
- Oakland Trail Hockanum River – Jumped onto another section soon after, great loop hike on both sides of the river
- Dart Hill Park – A third section, stayed on theme – odd but has its moments too
- Coney Rock – Quick afternoon hike with a view [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”September” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Talbot WMA – Didn’t have time to hike the full loop, so enjoyed the walk down to the river bend and back
- Nathan Hale State Forest – Despite intending to, I’ve never done the same hike here twice, a few miles through the woods and a stop at the farmer’s market [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”October” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Dunhamtown Forest – Rehiked this loop after a few years and not a bit has changed
- South Meadows River Trail – First of hike of this work in progress, some pavement, some grass, some mud, curious to see how it develops
- Whetten Woods – I’d forgotten how short this loop is, so hiked it twice
- Metcalf Nature Preserve – First hike of this short figure eight loop [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”November” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
- Moss Sanctuary – An easy morning hike
- McCann Family Farm – Despite hiking Whitaker a few times, I’d never jumped over to these surprisingly rugged trails
- Avery Farm Nature Preserve – First hike of this great loop that’s just challenging and varied enough
- Crystal Ridge Trail – First hike of this new town trail, the area has potential but the trail needs more use [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”December” open=”no” style=”fancy”]
