Lake Zoar Area Trails

ZOOOAAARRRR!
Lake Zoar Area Trails

Back in the day, the CFPA used to lump a bunch of trails under this heading. Then with the newest edition of the Walk Book, it changed and is now just listed as “Kettletown State Park, Pomperaug, and Zoar Trails.” Sure, the Paugussett Trail was lengthened and removed from this group of trails but I’m going to keep the unifying name. So there.

Zoar Trail (6.5 Miles)
Pomperaug Trail (4.6 Miles)
Kettletown State Park Trails & Oxford Loop (6+ miles)

Lake Zoar is the part of the Housatonic River behind the Stevenson Dam, which was built in 1919 to generate power. It’s now a large reservoir with lots of good hiking areas on both shores. The area around Lake Zoar features numerous historic sites, abandoned silver and garnet mines and abandoned roads that led to now (purposely) submerged towns.

Lake Zoar, a slightly undefinable artificial bulge in the Housatonic, is about 10 miles long and is the 5th largest freshwater body in the state. Aside from the town of Zoar it buried, it is said to also cover the original village of the Pootatuck Indians, a friendly Mohican tribe.

The CFPA Blue Trails Challenge