Roaring Brook Reserve
98.22 acres in East Haddam, CT
Parking: Small lot near 162 Clark Hill Rd, East Haddam, CT
Trail Map Trails: 1.6 miles Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Roaring Brook Reserve has a double lasso loop trail system featuring views of old mill sites along Roaring Brook, deep evergreen woods, and birch filled woods.
Hiking
From the parking area on Clark Hill Road the trail briefly follows a utility corridor access road before jumping onto trail to cross this same corridor. Under the power lines there is a nice open view of the rocky ledges to the northwest.
Back in the treeline the trail red trail forks into a loop. I took the right fork to stay close to the brook and was rewarded with a wooded views down to an old mill pond spillway waterfall on private property. The trail continues gradually downhill until eventually reaching the water’s edge following it for several hundred feet. There is another smaller but more modern dam in this area.
The loop then climbs away from the brook up to a bridge over a feeder stream to access the blue loop. This loop passes through stretches of many young black birch trees with occasional views back down towards the water. Off the east side there is access to a second parking area on the unpaved Florida Road.
Back on the red loop the trail climbs again passing a number of stout old white oaks and wooded views off on either side. This was a winter hike so I wondered what the growth in this area looks like during the height of summer.
The loop returns to the original fork and back to the parking area.
History:
Purchased by the Town of East Haddam in 2013 from the Zeiller family.
Links:
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Last updated February 18th, 2024
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