Connecticut Hiking Challenges & Rewards

Bring Them On!

If you know anything about me, you know that I’m a sucker for hiking challenges. Peak-bagging and high-pointing and red-lining get me more excited than you’d ever believe. There are a slew of such challenges all over New England, New York – as well as all over the country and world. I’m very keen on completing those in our surrounding states, which I’ll link to below as well.

But there are several in our little state, although many seem to be fleeting or even possibly just hypothetical. As ever, if you are reading this and are familiar with any I don’t have listed here, please let me know. I thought this page would be a good idea to create since everything below is in different places all over my site.

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The Established Challenges:

Connecticut State Parks “The Sky’s the Limit” Annual Hiking Challenges

The state’s DEEP has expanded the excellent “No Child Left Inside” slate of activities to now include year-long “hiking challenges.” You must go to their designated places and take “selfies” of yourself at a specified point and with the state park crest sign.

This is a really cool thing, especially as I do them with my sons.

The 2015 Sky’s the Limit Challenge
The 2016 Sky’s the Limit Challenge
The 2017 Sky’s the Limit Challenge

What you get: Do 10 and you get a completion certificate and little medallions. Do 14 and you are put in the running to win a hiking staff.

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CFPA Blue Trails Challenge

– So exciting! The CFPA phased out the 3 patched trails (below), but have revamped the whole thing to include the entire system.

Here are my posts on the CFPA Trails

Hike any of the trails in the trail system and accumulate miles and memories as you go. With three challenge categories (200, 400, or 800 miles) you can stitch together a hiking challenge on the trails that is right for you. There’s no time limit, you can complete a challenge category in a single season or across your hiking lifetime.

More information.

The CFPA trail system seems to grow every year and is well over 800 miles now. My only problem is going back through my decade of hiking and adding up my mileage. (But you know I love doing this stuff.)

What you get:

200-miler: CFPA t-shirt
400-miler: CFPA water bottle
800-miler: CFPA fleece vest

Interactive hiking map

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The Connecticut 400 Club (Retired)

I suppose this one is officially retired in deference for the Blue Trails Challenge, but I like to hang on to it a bit… this is our oldest (as well as our most misnamed) challenge. The CT400 Challenge was created in the 1970’s when the CFPA trails totaled 400 miles. Since then, the mileage has more than doubled, but the name of the “club” remains. This one is a bit hard to pin down, but basically you are tasked with hiking ever inch of every trail in the CFPA Walk Books. Of course, those trails change frequently and new trails have been added since the last edition. To my mind, I’ll be a Club Member when I finish every inch of every trail that exists at such time. But you probably don’t have to be such a completist. You should certainly become a CFPA member if you aren’t, and keep up with their doings on their website.

Here are my posts on the CFPA Trails

Oh – and if you complete this challenge, you’ll complete the next five below by default – and the 3 levels of the Blue Trails Challenge as well.

Interactive hiking map

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Three CFPA Patched Trails (Retired)

There are a few other hike rewards within the Connecticut 400. However, as I mentioned above, they were sadly phased out in late 2014. They were:

The Mattabesset Trail, 57.2 Miles, part of the New England National Scenic Trail. This centrally located horseshoe-shaped trail connects is the central section of Connecticut’s section of the NET.

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The Metacomet Trail, 59.6 Miles, part of the New England National Scenic Trail. From the Berlin Turnpike north to the Massachusetts line in Suffield, this is our northernmost sector of the NET.

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The Quinnipiac Trail, 18.3 Miles I believe this is deemed the CFPA’s oldest trail, hence its importance despite its short length.

What you get: Nothing anymore, other than extreme satisfaction and a good chunk of your first level (200-miler) CFPA Blue Trails Challenge level. Back in the day, you’d get trail completion patches.

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Appalachian Trail: Connecticut Section, 55.3 Miles – Who doesn’t know what the AT is? I hiked this section in 1997, but that was way before CTMQ, so I’m doing it again.

What you get: The ATC gives (gave?) state completion rocker patches.

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Giant Master, Sleeping Giant State Park trails, Hamden, 30+ Miles This State Park trail network is maintained by the Sleeping Giant Park Association. Completing this one requires a LOT of double-backs and planning, especially for the solo hiker.

I highly recommend this one, as it gets you to places in the very well-known park most visitors don’t know about. Everyone’s been to the tower, but not everyone has seen the Giant’s knees.

Information – You must be a Sleeping Giant Park Association dues paying member while completing
What you get: A handsome certificate of completion and patch

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The Other Challenges:

The rest of these hiking challenges are not part of the CT400 Club program… but that doesn’t mean they are any less excellent.

Burlington Trail Master, Burlington, 39.3 Miles The majority of this challenge will be complete if you are a Tunxis Trail and or CT400 completer, but not quite all of it.

Information – You must be a Burlington Land Trust dues paying member while completing
What you get: I got a tee-shirt, but I think the plan is for a patch and certificate

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Steep Rock Hiker’s Challenge, Washington, ~40 Miles – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the three Steep Rock Association Preserves offer some of the best hiking in the state. Period.

Information You must be a Steep Rock Land Trust dues paying member while completing
What you get: A lapel pin and a Certificate

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Ives Trail (Bethel, Danbury, Ridgefield), 20 Miles – I think this trail is completely cleared and blazed now. I love a patched hike that I can do in a day.

Information
What you get: Completion patch

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Branford Trail, Branford, 28 Miles This one is a bit of a mystery to me, as I’ve heard you are only an official completer if you do the group hikes they put on twice a year. I don’t want to do that, but I want to complete the Branford Trail. Some of the sections are on RWA land, so a permit will be required, but whatever.

Information
What you get: Completion patch

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Madison Land Conservation Trust Challenge, variable mileage This seems to change annually. In 2015, the MLCT required you hike all of their trails. In 2016, they merely say you must hike ONE of their trails, take a “selfie,” and submit it for a chance at a prize. Maybe too few hiked all their trails in 2015?

Weak. Keep it tough – I know I wanted to do it in 2015 but couldn’t find the time. Who knows what the future will bring.

Information can be found here
What you get: Seems to change every year

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My made up Challenge:

Connecticut 17’ers – the ten highest peaks in Connecticut, most of which are not trailed, and some of which are private property. I don’t recommend you try to complete this list. Let me be the lone idiot to do so.

(Since I published the 10 highest peaks list, several intrepid explorers have contacted me with tips and tricks to summit them. So I guess I’m not alone.)

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Other Northeast Peak-Bagging Challenges, etc:

There are a million of these. These are the ones that most interest me.

State Highpointing – I love this so much.

Northeast 111 – the 115 northeastern peaks over 4,000 feet. This includes the:

Adirondack 46’ers (the 46 ADK peaks over 4,000 feet ), the New England 67 (same deal around New England) which includes the New Hampshire 48 (same deal, in New Hampshire). And most of those peaks are part of New England’s Hundred Highest Peaks, but not all of them.

Catskills 3500 Club – 39 3,000 foot+ climbs in the Cats (4 double climbs required in winter, like Slide Mountain, below).