Oh Boyd! Litchfield Hills Audubon Society's Boyd Woods, Litchfield November 2024 Another year, another random Litchfield trail hiked on the day I pick up our turkey from Bunnell Farm for Thanksgiving. The turkey for which I drive the 45 minutes west, pay ten times what others pay for their frozen Butterball, curse … [Read more...]
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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
Simsbury River Walk
"Peace and Tranquility" Simsbury River Walk, Simsbury November 2024 This website became an adult a few months ago in September 2024. That's right, 18 years of CTMQ. You'd think the impetuousness and stupidity of its middle and high school years would be behind it, but no. Stupid things still happen here. Like, … [Read more...]
Wabbaquasset Trail
Putting Stock in These Woods CFPA's Wabbaquasset Trail, Woodstock November 2024 As I write this, I think this is still CFPA's newest trail. It was christened in June of 2022. I could joke that CFPA must be running out of places, since this trail is literally located at the end of a dead-end gravel road just shy of … [Read more...]
The Fifty-Acre Wood
Winnie the Poo The Fifty-Acre Wood, Woodstock November 2024 After driving through northern Woodstock along Redhead Hill Road, then English Neighborhood Road, you come to Pond Factory Road. You immediately think, "boy, I'm taking this skinny gravel road to Massachusetts, there can't be much up this … [Read more...]
Kettletown State Park
Kettletown State Park Southbury If someone reads this in 2027, shoot me a note or leave a comment to remove this: The crazy rainstorm in 2024 that killed a couple people and absolutely destroyed this part of the state, resulted in a major damage here. The campground and surrounding areas, including the Pomperaug, … [Read more...]
Topsmead State Forest
Topsmead State Forest Litchfield What a lovely area. Truly. No matter the season or the reason of your visit, it's just such a beautiful spot. Topsmead State Forest is the former summer estate of Miss Edith Morton Chase, daughter of Henry Sabin Chase, one of the leaders in the brass industry, and Alice … [Read more...]
Still Brook Open Space
Still There, Still Hikeable, Still Brook Still Brook Open Space, Simsbury November 2024 I've lived in West Hartford since 2001 and in that time, I've seen my town sell every available acre to developers. At the same time, I've seen nearby Simsbury spend town money on protecting open space and woodlands from … [Read more...]
Mount Tom State Park
Mount Tom State Park Litchfield, Morris, & Washington I was about to say that my favorite fact about this place is that I find it very weird that Litchfield claims the park - and the state DEEP says it's in Litchfield - when, in fact, only like 10% of it is in the town. The bulk of it is in Washington, including … [Read more...]
Tree House Farm Trails
Go Climb a Tree Tree House Farm Trails, Woodstock November 2024 No one is coming here to hike. Heck, no one is coming here to drink or purchase and then accidentally hiking. And that's fine, because the "hiking" here isn't so much hiking but just strolling down farm roads through the plantings at the Woodstock … [Read more...]
Nipmuck Woods
Nipping up to Stafford to Tuck in the Woods Northern Connecticut Land Trust's Nipmuck Woods, Stafford November 2024 Here's a good example of the challenge of what I do with CTMQ. Although, in fairness, I do this to myself. I "completed" Stafford in 2017. It felt good. Granted, Stafford isn't exactly a bustling … [Read more...]