CT hiking

[daxs]

I will be in the New London CT area over a weekend in early August. Does anyone have suggestions for hiking or kayaking in that area? Are the trails in the Shelton CT area worth trying?

 

[Grumpy]

Not knowing exactly what you’re looking for, I offer the following commentary:

Our daughter lives in the New London area, and we do some modest hikes with her while visiting there. Bluff Point State Park, just across the Thames River from New London, in Groton is a favorite spot. It’s close by and the trails loop out through an old farm site to nice overlooks across Long Island Sound. This isn’t big time hiking, by any means, but it’s good for a few hours of poking around.

Bluff Point appeals because I like to find hiking experiences that are unique to an area in which I’m visiting. Around New London that means (to me) heading to the seacoast. There are numerous state parks and coastal nature reserves as you travel up along the Rhode Island shore, which is a stone’s throw away.

If you want to travel a bit farther, and you’ve not done it before, I’d recommend the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island. It is a humdinger. Not long or especially arduous, but nothing else in my experience quite matches it -- wild ocean on one side and elaborate mansions on the other.

G.

 

[Jay H]

Since New london is fairly close to RI, there are some spots on far western RI where you can launch into the ocean and further than that, like a day trip, you can go over to Exeter and kayak in the Naragansett. A bunch of us VFTTrs did that last year and had a good time. Swamp is the man for Rhode Island kayaking, might want to PM him.

New London too is also right on the river, just need to find a launch spot. Beware of large Navy vessels though. Maybe some submerged ones as well.

Jay

 

[imarchant]

It's not exactly I hike, but I remember exploring the old forts (WW II?) on Napatree Point, in Watch Hill RI as a teenager. There is also a light house on Watch Hill point. I imagine the Kayaking in Little Narragansett bay would be interesting too.

 

[ripple]

There are no trails in Shelton Ct worth checking out. You will be looking at houses on pretty much every trail. Indian Wells state park is in Shelton and there is a cool water fall, but that is about it.

 

[Puck]

The New Haven area may offer some possibilities. West Rock park gives access to a traprock ridge with a trail that extends all the way to Cheshire. There are some nice views. The canpoy gives the illusion of wilderness by covering the roads and houses. There is access to this ridge from Brooksvale PArk Hamden. Sleeping Giant is a also a poular area. There are numerous trails.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I live in western R.I. near the CT border (less than 1 hour from New London). R.I. trails are not big time hiking by ANY stretch of the imagination. However, because R.I. is not a hiking state the (all too few) trails get very little use and therefore are in very good shape.

If you can find your way to Arcadia Land Management area in the western section of R.I., there are some pretty nice trails there. Ben Utter and J.B. Hudson (both named after hikers) are good ones and both are in Arcadia. Each is about 3 miles long and if you take your time you can enjoy each in about 2 hours. Ben Utter has some nice falls and Hudson leads to a pond then winds by a pretty well flowing brook. The trails are well maintained and well blazed and you'll more than likely have them to yourself. Again small time hiking but a chance to enjoy some of nature.

 

[Jay H]

Hey WhiteMtHike,

Arcadia, I remember that, that is where the Wood River is. Swamp took us down that stream when we were there the first day. The winds were howling that day and the waters off the bay were kind of choppy and so we did that the first day we were there.

I also thought of if you want to head west, there's paddling in the Thimble Islands, near Stony Creek, CT. Boat traffic but there are supposedly a bunch of places there that boats tend not to hang out in. The ConnYak group could probably help you there...

There's always the Connecticut River too.

Jay

 

[Chip]

New London/Mystic is all about the water.
There are Blue Dot trails in the area, and I'd be happy to fax you those pages as the Blue Dot people really want you to buy their book. I guess it depends on how much time you have, but I'd be tempted to eat some clams and get out on the water or spend the time at the aquarium and seaport at Mystic.
PM me here if you want the Blue Dot maps in the area.

 

[swamp]

About 15 miles northeast of New London is the town of Voluntown. Here you will find the Pachaug State forest which is riddled with trails. Many of them are part of the blue-blazed trail system maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Assn. (www.ctwoodlands.org). A short hike will take you to the "summit" of Mt. Misery which offers some limited views of the area.The Pachaug trail, which links the Pachaug forest with the Arcadia Management area in RI, is my personal favorite.
There are many options for kayaking (both flat-water and ocean) in the area. PM or email me if you need any help.

 

[dougb]

For kayaking in the Groton/New London area, you can put in at Bluff Point, and paddle out to Ledge Light (dodging the ferries). But if you've got time, you're better off heading a little further down I-95 S to Selden Neck. That's where the CT river enters Long Island Sound and there's a big salt marsh. It's the only major river in the US that doesnt have a port at it's mouth due to the big sand bar.

Another favorite is to go to Mystic, and put in under the I-95 bridge, and then you can paddle down the Mystic river and around Mystic Seaport. That's a real nice paddle if you do it at night, especially if there's a full moon (weekend of the 20th). There's a public dock just down stream of the drawbridge in Mystic, so you can get out & get some ice cream... for some reason, ice cream seems to figure in a lot of local kayaking.

Last kayak trip would be to go a bit further east and put in at Barn Island. From there, you can paddle to Watch Hill, RI. Put in near the end of beach, and yes, ice cream.

For details, check the CT Coastal Access Guide and the CT Boaters Guide

For hiking, as noted Bluff Piont's pretty good. You can get on a beach & through some marsh, although it gets a little crowded on weekends. If you want "rugged," I suggest Lantern Hill & the Narragensett Trail. It starts just east of Foxwoods, so there's plenty of signs to follow. Not the most difficult trail in the world, but it has it's points.

 

[John S]

Dax, you can check out maps for all of the suggested CT parks and forests here.

Bluff Point is a great place for a morning or evening run. The loop on the main road (no vehicles) along the water out to the beach, up to the bluff and back over the 100 foot ‘high point’ is just under three miles. If you want something longer, there is a path to a footbridge over the railroad tracks leading to Haley Farms State Park, another passive use area located to the east on Palmer Cove.

Another nearby paddling area to check out would be the broad shallow water off Stonington Point to Sandy Point.

Sleeping Giant is your best bet from Shelton. It’s close by and for its size and location has an amazing store of ups, downs and ruggedness.

 

[John Satterlee]

Hi,

The hikes listed above are all good,


The North South Trail is just over the RI border also. Loops are possible in Burlingame and Carolina State management areas.

http://outdoors.htmlplanet.com/nst/nstmap1.htm

If you are interested in beach walking, there are several long walks along the southern RI shoreline: these barrier beaches are interrupted by breachways effectively creating dead ends that allow one to walk along long stretches of undeveloped, and relatively deserted beaches, even in summer. Napatree point is attractive with the fort at the end, but very crowded in summertime?


If you have time, there is some nice kayaking just over the RI border, on the Wood River. You can put in Alton (Rte 91) and going north it is really nice.

From Shelton, you are not that far from Bear Mountain in Salisbury (on the AT) which in my mind is the best climb in the state. Also, Zoar and Kettletown have trails listed in the Connecticut Walk Book but I have never been there, but drive by a few times a year and it makes me want to check out the area. The Housatonic River (way north of Shelton) has kayaking listed in some books. The river just north of Derby looks nice: I have ridden a bike along Rte 34 next to this river and it is beautiful and looks very interesting for paddling but I have never done that there either.

John

 

[ripple]

Just a heads up.... the river north of Derby CT is filled w/ jet skies and power boats. It is nice to paddle if you go on a wensday, but during the weekend it could be dangerous. There is a little cove area in that section w/ great yellow perch fishing. Lake zoar again is filled w/ power boaters and the trails at Kettle town are nice but I don't bother doing the 10 minute drive to them never, b/c they are just so so. I rather drive the 20 mintues to Sleeping Giant state park, or Devils hopyard is up towards New london. The AT along the housatonic river is a nice hike, but if from the shelton area it will take a good 1.5 hrs to drive to.

 

[rup]

Lantern Hill in Ledyard / N stonington border, was mentioned above. It's a salt dome, and except for Mt Desert Is in ME, and Blue Hill in Boston, the highest 'peak' closest to the water in NE. You can be up and down in 30 minutes. Some rock climbing on the south side. It had been a quarry.

 

[Mike P.]

Devil's Hopyard State Park has a trail system with several loops & some fun woods walking & a river runs through it for soaking feet + Chapman Falls, a pretty neat place, the falls are crowded on weekends but rarely does anyone venture far from them. From New London, 30 to 40 minutes would be about right.

Cliff walk is neat.

Also State Forest as others mentioned as a couple of the CT Blue Trails, no loops that I know of though but I don't travel there much.