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CTMQ > Hikes, Bikes & Paddles

Read this first

State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites
State Highpointing Intro
Why State Highpointing?
Land Trust Trails
Connecticut Hiking Challenges & Rewards
CFPA Trails & The Blue Trails Challenge
Town Owned Trails
Peakbagging Tallies
Highpointing and Peak-Bagging Intro

State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites

July 17, 2010 by Steve 2 Comments

Stately List State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, Natural Area Preserves, Wildlife Management & Field Trial Areas, & Campsites This page was a huge mess for CTMQ’s first 10 years. Connecticut makes such a simple sounding list incredibly difficult to organize for a bunch of reasons that you don’t care about. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites

Shenipsit Trail: Section 4

June 10, 2010 by Steve 6 Comments

Section 4: SHHhhhhhhenipsit Vernon, Tolland, Ellington ~ 6 miles May 13, 2010 Ahhh, such a clever title. For this is the secret section of what has become quite the oddball trail. I’ve come to learn why the Shenipsit isn’t included in the conversation with CFPA’s “big” trails (Metacomet, Mattabesett, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Ellington, Shenipsit Trail, Tolland, UConn, Vernon

Topsmead Cottage

May 5, 2010 by Steve 8 Comments

Totally Tops Topsmead Cottage, Litchfield (Location) October 2009 Connecticut museum visit #141. I used to maintain a personalized list on CTMQ called "Hidden Gems." After a while, however, I realized that there were just too many and defining what was hidden became impossible - especially in the Internet Age. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Museums, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Cool Architecture, Damian, Free Museums, Hoang, Litchfield, topsmead state forest

Shenipsit Trail: Section 3

April 14, 2010 by Steve 7 Comments

A Seriously Mixed Bag 12.2 Miles in Manchester, Bolton, & Vernon March 2010 I’m glad I had a partner for this hike – the learned Dennis Paul Himes (trailname: Cumulus) – or else I may have gone crazy. For this is one very strange stretch of the Shenipsit. Four towns, three town parks, two state parks, two … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Bolton, case mountain recreational area, Manchester, Shenipsit Trail, tankerhoosen wma, valley falls park, Vernon

Squaw Cave

April 10, 2010 by Steve 7 Comments

A Solution (Cave) for the Homeless Squaw Cave, Bolton April 1, 2010 Note: I enjoyed my title so much that I've decided to keep it, even though the entire premise turned out to be totally wrong. Just keep reading and you'll see at the bottom that I sorted it all out. Over the years of writing this website, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biology & Geology, Everything Else, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Bolton, bolton notch state park, Bushwhack, Caves & Dens, Cool Geology, Cool Rocks, Dubious Claims, Great Views

Campbell Falls

April 5, 2010 by Steve 4 Comments

No Soup for Connecticut Campbell Falls , New Marlborough, MA(!) April 2010 & April 2014 [Note: For my Waterfalls pages, I’m using the town designation used by the Connecticut Waterfalls 2013 guidebook. Because sometimes it’s fun. This one is quite unique because the fall themselves are in Massachusetts, mere feet … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Geography, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: campbell falls state park, Damian, Hikes with my Boys, Justin Coleman Photography, Massachusetts, Monuments and Plaques, Norfolk, Waterfalls

111. Gillette Castle

March 9, 2010 by Steve 5 Comments

The Best (Castle) a Man Can Get East Haddam & Lyme (Google Maps Location) May 31, 2009 I've since visited Gillette Castle many times, for many different reasons. In fact, there are several other CTMQ pages about the state park, often with much better pictures. Aha! A rarity on CTMQ: A museum I’d visited … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Museums, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: "See Before you die" list, Cool Architecture, Damian, East Haddam, Gillette Castle State Park, Hoang, Lyme

Gay City State Park

March 7, 2010 by Steve 5 Comments

“We Built This Gay City… We Built This Gay City on Rocks and Roll(ing Hills)!” Bolton, Glastonbury & Hebron, about 11 miles total June 17 and 24, 2009 It is always challenging for me to logically and concisely present these "trail networks" for easy consumption. I put a lot of effort into planning for and hiking … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Abandoned and/or Unique Communities, Beach, Blue Trails Challenge, Bolton, gay city state park, Glastonbury, Hebron, Shenipsit Trail, Swimming

Shenipsit Trail: Section 2

February 16, 2010 by Steve 1 Comment

Section 2: A Blistering Pace… A Bloody Failure Route 2 Crossing - Coop Sawmill Road, 8.2 Miles January 17, 2010 Argh. So frustrating. Now that I’m back to work, I can no longer just go for a hike any old time like I could in the good ol’ days of summer 2009. I did take advantage of that time, sure, but … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Glastonbury, Manchester, meshomasic state forest, Shenipsit Trail

Shenipsit Regional Trails Intro

January 21, 2010 by Steve Leave a Comment

Shenipsit Regional Trail Network Bolton, Glastonbury, Hebron, Manchester, Vernon Like the Tunxis Trail, the Shenipsit has a whole host of trails leading to, leading from, or nearby that are included as sort of part of the main trail. I always figure the best way to present them is under their own separate section, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Bolton, Case Mountain Trails, gay city state park, Glastonbury, Hebron, Manchester, Shenipsit Trail, State WMA, Vernon

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