★★★★☆
20 Dianas Pool Rd, Chaplin, CT, USA
Diana’s Pool State Designated Water Access 15 acres in Chaplin, CT Parking: Small lot at 20 Dianas Pool Rd Chaplin, CT Trail Map Trails: Less than…
2024
2024 Year in Exploration
Other Years: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Hikes by Month
January
- Windsor Center Trail – Quick morning loop on New Years Day
- Angelo Sferrazza Memorial Park – Quick hike on the out and back with the CT River running swift
- Upper Three Mile River Preserve – Great loop hike with rugged terrain, dense mountain laurel, and clear swift waters
- Sellew Preserve – The outer loop offers wooded views, rushing brook water, and access to the Air Line Trail
- Pocotopaug Preserve – very short well-traveled loop near the lake
- Upper Pine Brook Preserve – Steep descent in the brook valley looping past the ruins (of an old paper mill?)
February
- Church Farm – Rexplored the property to visit the new (to me) blue access trail and reacquaint myself with the rugged loop
- William Jezek Memorial Preserve – Short rooty trails down to a view of the Moodus Reservoir
- Sabine Reserve – Winding trail loops along an abandoned road with old foundations and history
- PeGus’s Path Preserve – First hike, parking was a bit awkward, climbed the ridge and back
- Roaring Brook Reserve –
- Miller Farm Preserve – Just a plain loop in the snow
- Batz Property – Was pleasantly surprised by this loop hike in the snow
- Mattabesett East Terminus – First hike of this end of the trail, bit snowy and wet but hiked 80% out and back
March
- Fenton Ruby Park – Hiked through a couple of the trails, really enjoyed the adirondack chairs on the first sunny day in a long time
- Blue Flag Meadow – Rehiked this loop after remembering Teale doesn’t allow dogs
- Tower Hill Preserve – First hike since making the movie last year, the waterfall was flowing good
- Bradley Buchanan Woods – Rains and beaver activity have flooded key trails here
- Torrey Preserve – First hike since my full tour of the JT properties, still a simple short loop off the Nipmuck
- Banningwood Preserve – Well selected trail loop with history, geology and viewpoints
- Honey Hill Preserve – Short woods loop through glacial till
- Saunders Preserve – Surprised at how well established these new trails are
- River to Ridgetop North – Two visits to this property, long hike options, overlooks galore
- Natchaug State Forest – Rehiked the CCC loop and loved it, they’ve expanded/rerouted the trail since my last hike
- Hemphill Woods – First hike here in about 7 years, lots of freshly fallen trees and wet trail but a nice loop hike
April
- Cockaponset State Forest – Hiked the length of the blue blaze Cockaponset Trail and then worked back on the rest of the trails
- Raymond Brook Preserve – Hiked in from a different parking area for a change of pace
- Woodtick Recreation Area – Rehiked this popular flat walking path around Scoville Reservoir
- Whitestone Cliffs Trail – This hike as everything you could want overlook, waterfall, and great hiking in one short loop
- Five Mile Rock – Short hike to this out of the way historical landmark
- Merrow Preserve – Figure eight double loop that doesn’t see much hiking but gets down to Lake Hayward Brook
- Urbanik Reserve – Hiked the double loop and sat in the adirondack chairs next to the pond on a beautiful spring day
- Lena Reserve – First hike and was surprised to find newly expanded green and purple trails
May
- Nayantaquit Trail – First hike here in a couple years, this section of the Nehantic State Forest is being actively managed so there were a few large clear cuts slightly disrupting the trail
- Potter Meadow – This hike was foiled by flooding in both directions on this short loop trail
- Wolf Rock – This section of the Nipmuck trail has a new slight reroute from eroded old wood steps to well placed stone steps
- Mahoney Pond – Hiked this short trail and found fresh forest management before taking another crack at searching for Devil’s Den
- Lillinonah Trail – First hike of this rugged blue blaze loop, great rock features and surprisingly challenging
- Pootatuck State Forest – Hiked out the fantastic overlook and then down into Squantz Pond State Park to see the impressive Council Rock
June
- Nipmuck: Boston Hollow – Had some elements added that make it feel like someone’s grief trail? Still love the rugged loop
- Hollister Preserve – Last hiked when I made the movie, still a gem of an overlook
- Sheep Farm – First hike, did the shorter loop here and was surprised to find a waterfall
- Atkinson Preserve – First hike of the trails here and branched out into Nathan Lester to see the remains of the Ledyard Oak
- Stickney Hill – Just outside the heart of Rockville, this trail seems like it should be popular with locals but isn’t
- Adams Mill Trail – Despite seeing some complaints of a vaguely sketchy area, I thought this was a fantastic hike and have high praise for the Hockanum River volunteers who built this trail
- New State Trail – First hike, continued explorations of the varied Hockanum Trail, this one feels unique but I’m not sure why
July
- Friedman Forest – Did the standard loop on a sticky July day
- Mt Misery and the Rhododendron Sanctuary – Sky’s the Limit, the sanctuary is always a crowd pleaser and the misery overlook was better than I remembered
- Giddings Park – The ninja warrior course is a bit more weathered but still fun
- Natchaug State Forest – Just looking for a good loop on a sunny afternoon before wading in the river
- Iron Mine Valley – Last hike here was 8 years ago! Finally explored the trail across Boston Hollow Brook
- Hidden Valley Farm Preserve – First hike, ruins of a mill hide at the center of this hidden valley, nice water views too
- Moodus Forest – First hike, an out and back on this trail cobbled from three properties
- Golet Farm Preserve – First hike, short loop options that feel more like an ATV racetrack
August
- Bailey’s Ravine – I’ll mention every time how no two hikes have ever been the same here
- Sprague Land Preserve – Revisited green and blue for an afternoon hike
- Devils’ Hopyard – Explored the red trail for the first time despite the rain
- Hayward Reserve – A newish lasso loop trail that’s just darn pleasant
- Dorwart Preserve – Newfound enjoyment on this trail, much better than I remember
- Peoples State Forest – Hit Indian Shelter caves for Sky’s the Limit and then over to the Lighthouse and lookout, fantastic hiking abounds here
- Massacoe: Great Pond – First hike, explored the popular loop here for Sky’s the Limit, interesting to see all the birds in the pond
- Laidlaw Recreation Area – First hike, simple short town park loop, that recently received some TLC
- Weigold and Auperin and Tobiassen Forest – W & A were new to me but Tobiassen was last hiked eight years ago, loved the mossy rock features
- Chenes Roches Preserve – My third Joshua’s trust property that I hadn’t hiked since 2016, explored the new dense mountain laurel ridge trail
September
- Couch Preserve and Williams Preserve – First hike here since Williams opened in 2018, trails have become established, a new blue trail has been added, and the viewpoint at the river has been cleared
October
November
December