Bald Mountain

Bald Mountain

Northern CT Land Trust and Somers Town Park

771 acres in Somers, CT

Parking: Small lot near 225 Scully Rd, Somers, CT or near 159 County Road, Somers, CT

Trail Map            Trails: 2.5 miles       Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The Northern CT Land Trust has been putting a lot of work into this property recently.  I know feedback in the past has been that trails were poorly maintained and hard to follow.  My first visit was in early Fall 2022 and it’s likely this round of work hasn’t quite been completed.

A new un-adorned trailhead kiosk sits next to a pile of wood chips at the parking on the end of Scully Road. But new signs point the way to the Old Spring Trail to the right or to Pinnacle down abandoned Scully Road to the left. I took the Spring Trail and I’ve heard the spring is only about 0.2 miles in, but I missed it.

The trail heads steadily uphill among tall trees and fern understory on newly blazed red trail. As the property begins to level out the trail splits but handy signage points you towards the summit of Bald Mountain.  You begin to climb again and soon pass a 0.7 mile access trail down to the parking at Country Road.

The summit of Bald Mountain at 1,121ft is entirely forested. You can get glimpses of what the view might look like through the leaves, but I bet even in winter there isn’t much to see. Beyond the summit starts to descend the other side and the new blazes soon disappear.  The way is easy to follow because this is a long abandoned stretch of the Shenipsit Trail but after hiking after was seemed like just about a mile I was beginning to doubt the trail actually would loop.  I decided to persevere and sure enough the trail did connect to that abandoned stretch of Scully Road.

I didn’t track the hike but I’d guess it was about 2.5 miles.  I look forward to heading back once the work is complete.

History:

The NCTLT purchased the Bridge and Galbraith Properties properties in 2009 or 2010.  The Town of Somers to acquired 138 acres, purchased from Hugo and Selma Trappe, in 2009.

Links:

• CTMQ – Bald Mountain Loop Trail and Bald Mountain Preserve (2024)
• Peter Marteka – A Visit To A Not-So-Bald Mountain In Somers (2013)

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Last updated September 25, 2022