Nothing to Cry About Onion Mountain Park trails, Simsbury April 21, 2013 In 2022, the Canton Land Conservation Trust linked this park to Roaring Brook Nature Center via the Onion Mountain Trail. I am falling in love with West Simsbury and North Canton. They have a "wildness" to them that is especially cool in … [Read more...]
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Orenaug Park & Fire Tower
A Town Named Woodbury Needs a Good Fire Tower Orenaug Park Fire Tower January 7, 2012 Steel Tower (80 feet) on a 540 foot hilltop It's not often one can take their little kid on a hike in early January in Connecticut. Well, I suppose I should say back when I was a kid, this would never happen. But since we get … [Read more...]
Orenaug Park Stone Pillars
A Pillar of the Pillar World Orenaug Park, Woodbury January 7, 2012 To me, my title says it all. Oh sure, we have bigger stone pillars and more important pillars of our communities and rather handsome caterpillars in our state. But these pillars shall never be pilloried! For these are awesome pillars. I … [Read more...]
Hazen Park & Skyline Trails
Secret Hazen Ritual Hazen Park & Skyline Trails, Avon Land Trust (Avon) January 2011 Hazen Park is Town of Avon property. The Hazen Trail Extension and the Skyline Trail are on Avon Land Trust land. Now you know. The Skyline Trail had been on my to-do list for a couple years. I'd heard from a hiking friend that … [Read more...]
182. Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate
It’s a Lovely Building, For What That’s WadsWorth Middletown (Google Maps location) August 4, 2010 My visit to this place came at the end of a full day of traveling around central Connecticut for CTMQ. I had some food stops and a bunch of National Historic Landmark stops down in New Haven, but looking back upon … [Read more...]
Nonnewaug Falls Open Space
Damian, I'll Have Nonne Of It Nonnewaug Falls Open Space & Nonnewaug Falls Woodbury The Internet is a wonderful thing. Without it, my own experiences would just not be as rich and informational as they are here on CTMQ. But I also find great joy in learning about stuff around the state from old school pamphlets I … [Read more...]
Shade Swamp Sanctuary
Rage in a Cage Shade Swamp Nature Trails, Farmington September 10, 2009 As I poke around the state and find more trailed properties that aren't part of the CFPA Blue Trail network, I'm finding lots of cool hikes. And then there are others that are cool AND historically interesting AND perhaps just a little weird. … [Read more...]
Ragged Mountain Trails
Ragged Mountain Trails 6.0 Miles, Berlin Multiple hikes (2007-2009) I'm doing something a little bit different for this write-up. Instead of me droning on about the hike, I'm pretty much going to let the pictures do the talking. One of my life's goals is to convince Nutmeggers that we have pretty darn cool … [Read more...]
Risley Pond/Box Mountain Loop Trail
Risleying Above Vernon/Bolton, supposedly 2.6 miles February 16, 2009 President's Day. And guess what? We need a new mattress. Our bed is a rather excellent modern platform bed from some overpriced modern furniture store and we love it. However, the futon mattress - which is a very good futon mattress as far as … [Read more...]
McLean Game Refuge Trails
McLean Game Refuge Simsbury/Granby, about 13 Miles total October 2008 & July 2018 One of the nicer and more popular hiking areas in north-central Connecticut, McLean has always been a bit of a bugaboo for me. It's creation and governance is a bit unique which figures heavily in my feelings towards it. In short, … [Read more...]