Beacon Falls’ Town Trails
Good ol’ Beacon Falls. Everyone loves Beacon Falls, right? I mean, what trip down the Naugatuck Valley is complete without a stopover in the “BF” as its known.
Right?
Okay, okay… The Naugatuck Trail hits part of the town and the Naugatuck State Forest covers a bunch of it too. There is also a waterfall worth visiting, though it’s not called Beacon Falls and it’s in some place called either High Rock Park or The High Grove and apparently the road to access the trail to it is undriveable. Also, there’s another park with a trail or two with a house on an island in the middle of a lake.
Okay, Beacon Falls, I’m intrigued. Will you be my BF(F)?
My Beacon Falls Town Hikes:
Matthies Park
Toby’s Pond
CTMQ’s Guide to Beacon Falls
Various maps of Beacon Falls
CTMQ’s Town Owned Land Trails
Bob says
November 29, 2017 at 10:07 amThe “road” to High Rock is drivable, depending on what you are driving and what side you come from. The Naugatuck side is a little easier and a shorter drive on the “road” that you can do in a normal car, while the Beacon Falls side is longer and much rougher, I would advise a truck or SUV from that side. (Nothing too wide though, might not fit between the guard rail next to the train track and a massive rock on the left.)
PLEASE BRING OUT WHAT YOU BRING IN! If we keep it clean we’ll be able to keep it longer and enjoy the amazing views, hiking, and climbing. I actually care a couple bags just in case I see something.
So finally, get out and go visit High Rock. Be safe and enjoy the scenery and some fresh air.
Tom says
November 23, 2018 at 2:15 pmWith state permission, I blazed 20 miles of trails at the Naugatuck State Forest, West Block from Sept. 2015 to April 2016. The highlight of the West Block is the blue-blazed trail through Spruce Brook Gorge with three quarters of a mile of cascades and waterfalls. This is a former section of the Naugatuck Trail. High Rock, which I refer to as the flag overlook because of the American flag at the viewpoint, is located off the Purple Trail, a bit north of the junction with the White Trail.
The direct access road to what I call the Big Rock parking lot, due to the large glacial erratic in the parking lot, is on Cold Spring Road, Beacon Falls, near the junction of Spruce Brook Road (also known as Black Forest Road), Naugatuck. Cold Spring Road is dirt and often cratered with car-sized pits sometimes full of water. Although longer, the better access is through Naugatuck via Hunter Mountain Road to Spruce Brook Road.
The best option may be to start from the parking lot with an approximate street address of 360 Chestnut Tree Hill Road, and hike over via various trails.
The East Block has the Naugatuck Trail, the Whittemore Trail, and the Beacon Cap Trail, along with assorted unblazed woods road and fire roads.
The West Block is a popular hunting area, so wear blaze orange during hunting season. Sundays no hunting is allowed.
My webpage greatly expands on these details at https://westrocktrails.blogspot.com/p/naugatuck-state-forest-west-block.html
The state website has little info, but it does have the map links at http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=445284&deepNav_GID=1650#Naugatuck
MIchael A Krenesky says
July 11, 2024 at 10:03 pmIf you are interested in a complete history of the Naugatuck State Forest at High Rock State Park, a.k.a. Clara O’Shea Memorial State Park, please reach out to me.
Michael A Krenesky, Municipal Historian
Town of Beacon Falls, CT