Penwood State Park

787 acres in Simsbury and Bloomfield, CT

Parking:

Main Parking: Medium lot near 174 Hartford Rd, Simsbury, CT
North End: Shoulder parking at the end of WIntonbury Rd, Simsbury, CT

Trail Map Trails: 11 miles Rating: ★★★★☆

Table of Contents

Hiking
Trail Running
Geology
History
Links

A bit quieter than its mega-popular neighbor Talcott Mountain State Park, Penwood State Park offers more trails and equally great views. It is home to the annual Traprock 50 race and is a popular trail running destination. Highlights of the park include Pinnacle Overlook, Lake Louise, and the historic barn.

Hiking

Paved Loop – 3.4 miles
- Forking right from the parking area the left fork is open to cars and leads to the picnic area and park headquarters. Most hikers start on the right fork heading uphill among the pines (this section is closed to cars). The pavement, likely laid about 100 years ago, is slowly being reclaimed by nature but it still easy enough to travel with strollers. It is basically a straight shot north through the forest. There is access to many side trails should you want something a little more rugged including at about a mile in there will be access to the Cedar Ridge Overlook.
- The paved loop turns back at Lake Louise. There is a short steep spur road up to where Curtis Veeder’s cabin used to be with access to the highpoint of the park at Pinnacle Overlook. The loop continues downhill to the manicured lawns of the picnic area and back to the main parking area.
Metacomet / New England Trail – 3.2 miles
- The park contains 3.18 miles of the Metacomet section of the New England Trail. After leaving Talcott the Metacomet goes through the parking area and briefly follows the paved access road before turning off into the woods for a steep initial climb. The trail cuts through the heart of the park and is actually pretty tame compared to sections farther south. Well worn, it meets the junction at Lake Louise before leading around its edge. Beaver activity frequently floods the trail so slightly higher side trails lead around the worst spots.
- A reroute over the last couple years took the trail off a steep rocky climb and has been moved to a couple switchbacks and some well crafted natural rock stairs to reach the Pinnacle Overlook. The overlook has amazing views south to Heublein Tower and west across the Farmington River Valley.
- Past the overlook the trail continues north for about 1.25 miles to the north end of the park descending off the ridge on a standard steep rocky terrain
- Heading north: Wilcox Park
- Heading south: Talcott Mountain State Park
Yellow Trail – 1.35 miles
- The yellow trail starts off on the driveway up to the parking area and basically follows the Metacomet Ridge which comprises the Simsbury/Bloomfield town line here. The trail here is meandering following the curves of the landscape along the ridge. At about a mile you will reach the Cedar Ridge Overlook, the first great view on the trail. A picnic table allows you to sit and enjoy the view and there are a couple similar views a bit up the trail.
- The trail continues north a bit straighter now (with a blue blazed option to down off the ridge to Simsbury’s Tanager Hill) until the north end of the trail crosses Lucy Brook for a fantastic waterfall over the ridgeline. Unfortunately the steep terrain doesn’t allow for much of a view.
Red Trail – 1 mile
- Following the right fork of the paved loop the red trail will curve off the road leaving Gale Pond behind (the park is fenced off from Gale Pond so there is no access). The red trail is an easy gravel path between the paved road and private property off Penwood Rd and Stuart Drive and many of the houses have access paths and gates.
- Once past the private property there is access to Wintonbury’s Stout Family Fields and small meadow with a pleasant view. And just beyond that is an abandoned shack (that appears to have been partially restored recently) which houses a clear pool of water from a nearby stream. I’d guess that it dates to when Curtis Veeder ran the area as a farm and perhaps was water for the cows.
- Eventually the trail will reach the backside of park headquarters and a view of the historic barn and rejoins the road in the picnic area.

Trail Running

The park is home to the Traprock 50, a 50k (31 mile) race, part of the Blue Blaze Running Trail Running Series.

The Traprock course is a loop course of approximately 10.5-11 miles per loop. There will be two races (one (17k) and three loops (50k)). It is a rolling course with 50 % technical single track on the Metacomet Trail. The balance of the course is double-track. Consisting entirely of rolling forest roads or single track that can be extremely rocky, the course will provide a true test of the runner’s fitness and mental stamina. You should only consider entering this race if you are confident you have sufficient running experience such as having completed a recent road or trail marathon.

Over the years I’ve seen more and more runners on the loops here.

Geology

There are a couple areas to see the geology of the area.

First, at the Pinnacle Overlook the view will give you a sense of the Metacomet Ridge which runs all the way from Long Island Sound through the park and north to Massachusetts. The rock of this overlook is Talcott Basalt, the oldest of the three basalt flows in the park. This metamorphic rock remains after the receding glaciers eroded the softer sedimentary rocks in what is now the Farmington River Valley.

The second oldest rocks in the park are Holyoke Basalt. Large outcrops of this can be seen on the paved loop between the picnic area and Pinnacle Overlook.

The third area is on the yellow trail at the Cedar Ridge Overlook. The geology guide says,

“you will see loose pieces of siltstone mixed with loose basalt as the trail follows a fairly flat terrace. This area is probably underlain by siltstone, but no true outcrops occur to be sure. The flatness of the area suggests a softer rock supports the area than the basalt in the higher area to the east and the steep drop to the west.”

History

Established as a state park in 1944 when it was donated to the state by Louise Veeder in honor of her husband Curtis H. Veeder. ‘Penwood’ comes from Curtis Veeder as the name he gave to his mountain home, ‘veeder‘ means ‘pen’ in Dutch. Mr. Veeder wished only that his beloved ridge line, “be kept in a natural state so that those who love nature may enjoy this property as I have enjoyed it.”

Curtis Veeder purchased the property in 1913 and spent the next couple decades operating the land as a farm and a woodland retreat from his busy manufacturing business. He invented the cyclometer which displayed the number of miles traveled on a bicycle and went on to found the Veeder Manufacturing Company which sold a large variety of counting devices.

Curtis and his wife Louise developed the trails that we hike today to explore their favorite parts of the property. Veeder had the road installed and added ‘mushroom style’ culverts of his own design to keep it dry during rains and spring runoff. He was also an exacting surveyor, accurately assessing and mapping the property, even going so far as to cut a hole through a rock to be able to better sight his survey.

He also built a cedar log cabin near the Pinnacle overlook which unfortunately burned down in 1992. During World War II the cabin had a highly secret function as the governor’s safe-house should any attack or sabotage occur in the state. The area just past the overlook also has footings for a former fire lookout tower operated by the state from 1946 to about 1969.

Video

Posted in Blue Blaze Trails and State Parks and Forests Tagged In ★★★★☆, 06070, 1938 Hurricane, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024, Bloomfield, Explored, Geology, Hartford County, Metacomet, Metacomet Ridge, New England Trail, November, Overlook, Peter Marteka, Simsbury, State Parks, Trail Running, and Waterfall

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Penwood State Park