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CTMQ > Blue Trails Challenge

Highlawn Forest

January 15, 2025 by Steve Leave a Comment

Herbert's Way is the Only Way CFPA's Highlawn Forest, Middlefield & Middletown April 2009 & November 2023 No one would complain if I just ignored my "hike" here in 2009 as it was maybe a third of a mile total. Back then, the trails here weren't trails as much as they were demonstrations of how the CFPA trails … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Damian, Hikes with my Boys, Middlefield, Middletown

Wabbaquasset Trail

December 9, 2024 by Steve 1 Comment

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...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Woodstock

Valley Falls Park

April 1, 2024 by Steve 5 Comments

A Walk Through the Valley of the Falls Multiple Trails, Vernon April 2010 & December 2023 Valley Falls Park is a hub. It's a great jumping off point for tons of hikes and bike rides. This page is almost exclusively about the park trails maintained by the town of Vernon. It won't delve into the Shenipsit Trail or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, Town Land Hikes Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Vernon

Field Forest Trails

October 12, 2023 by Steve Leave a Comment

Field & Stream 2-3 Miles, Durham September 2023 Y'all know I love Connecticut Forest and Parks Association. I love what they do and how they do it. I just happened to run into former executive director Eric Hammerling in a store recently and had a nice chat to catch up on our lives. Me and CFPA - we're tight. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Durham

Mattatuck Trail: Section 1

January 3, 2023 by Steve 2 Comments

Cruising in a Plymouth 7.4 Miles, Wolcott & Plymouth December 2022 When I begin a new longer-distance trail, I often think about the people who rush to rip through certain hiking challenges. Surely there are Blue Trails Challenge hikers who try to get through the CFPA's nearly 1,000 miles of trails in just a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Cool Rocks, mattatuck state forest, Mattatuck Trail, Plymouth, Wolcott

Finch Brook Preserve

December 7, 2022 by Steve Leave a Comment

Mario HiKarting Finch Brook Preserve, Wolcott November 2022 This trail is bonkers. Really and truly bonkers. It is a designed as a 2.6 mile go-kart track... but for hiking. You will get dizzy walking the loop. You will have visions of "cheating" by cutting corners. You will read poetry and cross into Waterbury for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Wolcott, wolcott land conservation trust

Nipmuck Trail: Section 4

June 28, 2022 by Steve 1 Comment

Section 4: The State of the Union Barlow Mill Road to MA State Line, ~7.5 Miles November 2020 & June 2022 This is a fairly rugged seven or so miles, but the kicker is that no matter who you are or how you hike it, you must hike several more miles to get back to a car. I suppose you could have a kayak left at the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: bigelow hollow state park, Blue Trails Challenge, Eastford, nipmuck state forest, Nipmuck Trail, Union, yale myers forest

Mattatuck Trail Intro

April 6, 2022 by Steve Leave a Comment

Mattatuck Trail Wolcott to Cornwall, ~42 miles December 2022 - The CFPA's Mattatuck Trail is a bit of a mess. A really cool mess, but a mess nonetheless. It has a break in the middle of it between White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield and the south end of the Shepaug Reservoir in Warren. It traverses … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, mattatuck state forest, Mattatuck Trail

Saugatuck Trail Intro

February 13, 2022 by Steve Leave a Comment

Saugatuck Trail Easton to Weston, ~12 miles December 2007 - I completed the Saugatuck Trail in 2007 in just a couple of hours. Then CFPA extended in in 2018 and linked it up with the newer Aspetuck Trail. So now I have to write this introduction page because now I have to hike the trail in two part. But at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: CFPA Hikes, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, Easton, Great Views, Redding, saugatuck trail, Weston

Natchaug SF: Chaplin, Eastford, & Hampton Block Trails

December 1, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

CCC I Told You So Natchaug State Forest Trails, Eastford, Chaplin, & Hampton October 2021 The Natchaug has been a state forest for over 100 years. That's pretty cool. Who knows... if not for that designation, the towns of Eastford and Ashford and Hampton and Chaplin and Pomfret may be bustling megacities by now. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, State Parks, Reserves, Preserves, Forests, NAPs, WMAs, & Campsites Tagged With: Blue Trails Challenge, chaplin, Eastford, Hampton, Natchaug State Forest

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