Taconic Crest Trails

[tomcat32]

I stumbled across the Taconic Crest Trail, Taconic Skyline, and South Taconic Trail in something I was reading. It wasn't clear, are these 3 connected trails that are continuous? How long can you hike continuously using these trails? What is there distance? Do they run in MA, VT, and NY? Any info or links that has the details would be appreciated. And has anyone hiked here? Is it worth a backpacking trip?

 

[DayTrip]

I have made a few day hikes out on some of these trails this Spring and really enjoyed the area. Very nice ridge walks with interesting forest and open areas with nice views to the Catskills and other ridges. I didn't do a ton of research but I believe the Taconic Crest Trail was 33 miles in length and it does go through MA,NY and CT (I don't think it technically goes into VT but is very close). I generally day hike so I can't speak to the camping regulations for the area but the terrain would certainly be easy enough to find camp spots for small tents and hammocks. I don't recall any water sources on the ridge though so if you're backpacking that might be a consideration.

This is a photo from Mt Brace on the South Taconic Trail.

 

[jfb]

Here's some info: http://berkshirehiking.com/hikes/taconic_crest.html, http://taconichikingclub.org

 

[JToll]

I have hiked the Taconic Crest Trail north and south from Route 2 on the NY/MA border. There is a large parking lot on the south side of the road at the top of the hill. I went to south to Berlin Mt and north to the "sno-hole" Both are half day ridge walks. Berlin Mt has a great view of Mt Greylock. The "sno-hole" is an interesting cave but had no snow in it when we went in late June. I also hiked a small part of the South Taconic Trail near the CT/NY/MA tri-corner. I parked on East St at the CT/MA border and went over MT Frissel to Brace Mt. Brace has a nice view out toward New York. I relied on maps I found on the web.

 

[Tim Horn]

AMC guide to Massachusetts covers all of these "trails"

 

[Mike P.]

South Taconic is very nice, blueberries on South Brace and Brace. Tried going up Berlin from the East after a heavy rain and cold stream heights in in early Spring kept me from crossing. Part of the middle section I was reading up on seems to have been taken over by the ATV crowd but I have not been on it, it is just what I found online.

 

[Peakbagr]

Northern terminus is in VT. There's a terrific trail map to the Taconic Crest Trail.

 

[jfb]

http://www.taconichiking.com/taconic-crest-trail-north.php

 

[Peakbagr]

The Taconic Crest trail end-to-end one day hike happens every two springs. I was the co-director for 10 years. Volunteers move cars and bring water to cols along the way. It's a great event. The map was designed by cartographer, Liz Cruz and it doubles as a work of art.