I Came, I Sawmilled, I Turned Around Curtis Woodland, Durham September 2023 I don't believe in omens. But if I did, hoo boy, I'd have never bothered entering the woods here in northwest Durham. And maybe, due to my experience here, I'll start believing such things a tiny bit more. Curtis Woodland has been a … [Read more...]
Durham Meadows WMA
Hunting for Trails Durham Meadows WMA, Durham September 2023 When I put together my CTMQ Town Guides for each of our 169 towns, I do my best to capture everything germane to what it is I do. When it comes to hiking, I tend to be way too thorough. There's a sort of hierarchy to these things, and state-owned … [Read more...]
Millers Pond State Park Intro
Millers Pond State Park Durham & Haddam Millers Pond is a nice little state park that surrounds a natural spring-fed pond. There are lots of trails that extend beyond the park itself into the surrounding Cockaponset State Forest. The Mattabesett Trail courses through it. The pond has been dammed since 1740 … [Read more...]
Cockaponset State Forest Intro
Cockaponset State Forest Haddam, Chester, Deep River, Killingworth, Durham, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Middletown & Middlefield I listed all the towns above not because there are worth CTMQ things do within the Cockaponset in each, but just to make the point that this is a disjointed and sprawling … [Read more...]
Stephen Woods Lane
Thank you! Stephen Woods Lane, Durham I always find it fascinating when someone posts (yet another) “best road names in Connecticut” post on Reddit or facebook. It warms my heart to learn that people really do love wacky road names. I’ve maintained my list for years and I think I’ve got a fantastic list to “visit” … [Read more...]
CTMQ’s Guide to Durham
Everything Durham I’ve been exploring and writing about Connecticut since 2006. After a decade, I began compiling CTMQ guides for each town in the state. I plan on “completing” Durham CTMQ-style... as well as the other 168 towns, cities, and boroughs in Connecticut. That is the ultimate goal of CTMQ. If I’ve … [Read more...]
Durham’s Town Trails
Durham's Town Trails It is my strong contention that the only thing people think about when they think about Durham is the Durham Fair. And that's fair. I suppose. But there are some decent properties for hiking around the rural town, and while I have no idea how nice the "town owned" tracts are as I write … [Read more...]
Middlesex Land Trust Trails
Middlesex Land Trust Trails Cromwell, Durham, East Hampton, Middlefield, Middletown, Portland and Haddam Hoo boy. This one’s a doozy. While I completely understand that it is nigh impossible for little land trusts to keep and maintain a nice website that allows the few who care to easily tease out the trailed … [Read more...]
Durham Historical Society Museum
Derrr, Uhhhmm Durham (Google Maps location) September 2012 This is one of those (probably) totally (maybe) unfair "reviews" of an innocent little town history historical society museum. Note the date of my visit: 2012. So whenever you're reading this in the future, perhaps the Durham Historical Society … [Read more...]
TSTL’16.10: Millers Pond State Park
The Sky's the Limit 2016 Hiking Challenge #10 Millers Pond State Park, Durham/Haddam Septemeber 4, 2016 Now into the double digits for our 2016 Sky’s the Limit Challenge hikes, I was feeling confident about our chances for completion. (Well, let’s be honest – we all knew we’d complete all 14.) Millers Pond … [Read more...]