2024

2024 Year in Exploration

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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

Chenes Roches Preserve

★★☆☆☆

65 Blair Road, Willington, CT

Chenes Roches Preserve Joshua’s Trust Land Trust 56 acres in Willington, CT Parking: Small lot for 2-3 cars at 65 Blair Road, Willington, CT Trail Map …

Devil’s Hopyard State Park

★★★★☆

366 Hopyard Rd, East Haddam, CT 06423

Devil’s Hopyard State Park Connecticut State Park 1000 acres in East Haddam, CT Parking: Medium sized lot at 8 Foxtown Rd, East Haddam, CT. There are also a… Read more…

Rocky Neck State Park

★★★★★

41.315582, -72.241485

Rocky Neck State Park Connecticut State Park 708 acres in East Lyme, CT Parking: Lots of parking at 244 W Main St, Niantic, CT or more direct access… Read more…

Cross Farms

★★☆☆☆

41.865457, -72.336638

Cross Farms Tolland Town Park 108 acres in Tolland, CT Parking: Large lot at 167 Rhodes Road, Tolland, CT Trail Map Trails: 1 mile …

Torrey Preserve

★★☆☆☆

41.811942, -72.225860

Torrey Preserve Mansfield Town Park 29.5 acres in Mansfield, CT Parking: Small lot near 266 Gurleyville Rd Mansfield, CT Trail Map Trails: 1 mile Rating:…

Shelter Falls

★★☆☆☆

41.811085, -72.281508

Shelter Falls Mansfield Town Park 75 acres in Mansfield, CT Parking: Small pull off near 172 Birch Rd Mansfield, CT Trail Map Trails:…

Coney Rock

★★★☆☆

41.794751, -72.202390

Coney Rock Preserve Joshua’s Trust Property and Town of Mansfield Park Location: 134 acres in Mansfield, CT Parking: Small pull-off near 501 Chaffeeville Rd Storrs, CT Shoulder… Read more…

Szegda Farm

★★☆☆☆

41.701433, -72.288930

Szegda Farm Columbia Town Park 135 acres in Columbia, CT Parking: Upper Trails – Small lot near 43 Szegda Rd Columbia, CT Lower Trails – Medium lot near 42 Szegda…

Giddings Park

★★☆☆☆

41.628226, -72.125934

Giddings Park Franklin Town Park 72 acres in Franklin, CT Parking: Large lots near 191 Pond Rd, North Franklin, CT Trail Map Trails: 1 mile Trail…

Dorwart Preserve

★★☆☆☆

41.796344, -72.195826

Dorwart Preserve and Lion’s Memorial Park Mansfield Town Parks 125 acres in Mansfield, CT Parking: Small pull-off near 215 Mulberry Rd Mansfield, CT Trail Map …

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2024

2024 Year in Exploration

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