New State Trail
47.58 acres in Manchester, CT
Parking: Small lot at Cheney Tech 791 Middle Turnpike W, Manchester, CT
Trail Map Trails: 2.9 miles Rating: ★★☆☆☆
The New State Trail is part of the Hockanum River Trail. This rugged trail sees just enough use and just enough maintenance to keep it clear and I thankful it does since this section feels unique though I’m not sure how.
Hiking
Starting from the trailhead at the edge of the Cheney Tech parking lot the trail descends into a well planted rain garden which was fully in bloom with daylilies on my June 2024 visit. I took the left onto the “sub trails” closest to stay closest to the river. This sub trail crosses some wet marsh on boardwalk to reach the river’s edge and follows it closely for well over a half mile. As it nears the “memorial trees” section it turns from the river into dense overgrowth as you get back closer to the utility corridor. I had to push through some thick growth for a brief stretch, but the rest of the trail had been cleared as recently as earlier that weekend.
Crossing the utility corridor enters the forested stretch and the bank of the river becomes steep in sections. As I’ve grown accustomed to on the Hockanum River Trail, elaborate steps and boardwalks have been built to pass the most challenging sections. From one of these you can see the bridge that has washed down from upstream knocking out this section of the loop trail over Daffodil Island.
Instead you hike out to New State Road, walk along the road, and use the well road to connect to the north edge of the river. I, however, retraced some of my steps and took all the alternate trails back to the parking area.
Previous section: Laurel Marsh Trail
Next section: Hackett Trail
History:
Part of this property was purchased by the Town of Manchester in 2003.
Links:
- CTMQ – Hockanum River Trail 11: New State Road (2016)
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Last updated June 24th, 2024
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