15.83 acres in Manchester, CT
Parking: Shoulder parking near 36 Pleasant St, Vernon, CT
Trail Map Trails: 0.7 miles Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Stickney Hill should be a popular spot with locals, it’s a nice short loop with varied terrain and a touch of history. Parking is a bit awkward and the overlook leaves a lot to be desired, but it’s great for just outside the heart of Rockville.
From what can barely be called a pull-off surrounded by No Parking signs the trailhead access heads uphill to the white blazed trail. I took a right at the fork hiking the loop counter-clockwise. It’s fairly easy walking in the early stretches and gets more rugged the farther down the loop you go. The backside of the loop connects to the short blue loop heading down an esker. This trail appears to be the least traveled of all, but passes some interesting features and I saw a family of raccoons climb into a high crook of a tree.
Back on the white trail you’re climbing again between sparse rock to the top of the hill. There is a bench here, but I wouldn’t call it an overlook. I couldn’t even see down into the forest. I’m curious if I saw the wrong bench or if the view is that much better in the winter because I’d expect you could see west from this hill to catch a glimpse of Rockville.
The last bit past the ‘Old Shed’ was pretty overgrown in summer, but still easily passable as I returned to the parking area.
Purchased by the Manchester Land Trust in December 2016 when it was donated by developers Richard Lee and Stephen Lamont. The land trust held a naming contest between Pleasant Hill and Stickney Hill sometime in 2017 and Stickney Hill won. It comes from John Stickney, who inherited the property from his father-in-law in the mid-19th century.
The stone bench, part of a larger Eagle Scout project was completed by Cooper Nodden of Troop 25 out of Manchester.
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