East-West Trail Bloomfield to Cornwall, ~60 miles Began: June 2019 Completed: Note: This trail does not yet exist! It won’t be the longest trail in the state and it won’t even be all new trail. But for whatever reason, I’ve been obsessed with CFPA’s proposed hypothetical East-West Trail since I first heard … [Read more...]
CTMQ’s Guide to Norfolk
Everything Norfolk 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” Norfolk CTMQ-style... as well as the other 168 towns, cities, and boroughs in Connecticut. After all, that is the ultimate goal of … [Read more...]
Norfolk’s Town Trails Intro
Norfolk’s Town Trails With three state parks, two quasi-private forest tracts (Aton and Great), and an active land trust, that doesn’t leave much land for the town to manage. Even in a town with so much undeveloped land like Norfolk. And frankly, I’m not really all that confident what’s listed below should even … [Read more...]
TSTL’15.3: Dennis Hill
The Sky's the Limit 2015 Hiking Challenge #3 Dennis Hill State Park, Pavilion Overlook Norfolk May 24, 2015 There are other CTMQ pages about Dennis Hill (a subsequent visit with the family and one about the former observation deck.) And someday, I'll beef this one up with the trails around the park. If you’re … [Read more...]
TSTL’15.2: Haystack Mountain
The Sky's the Limit 2015 Hiking Challenge #2 Haystack Mountain State Park, Tower Norfolk May 24, 2015 My love for Norfolk is well-documented on this website. I love its goofy claim to fame - "The Icebox of Connecticut," its affinity for curling, its beautiful and eclectic "downtown," and its state parks. The … [Read more...]
Dennis Hill Observation Platform
Dennis Hill State Park View (and former Observation Platform) Norfolk, multiple visits Summit Road and Pavilion (1,627 feet) There are other CTMQ pages about Dennis Hill (a subsequent visit with the family and one about the former observation deck.) And someday, I'll beef this one up with the trails around the … [Read more...]
Campbell Falls State Park
Campbell Falls State Park Norfolk April 19, 2014 Phew. This is hard work. I’ve had a page about Campbell Falls for several years up on CTMQ, but it always bothered me. I visited this place in 2010 with my older son Damian and we merely parked and made the quick .4 mile round-trip walk down to the highlight of … [Read more...]
Norfolk Land Trust Intro
Norfolk Land Trust Trails Norfolk I love Norfolk. Love it silly. Of all the northwestern towns that I love, Norfolk is the only one other than Salisbury with a sort of "downtown" worth remarking upon. The iconic Infinity Theater, an incredibly beautiful library, and some Yale properties everyone should see at least … [Read more...]
NNL: Beckley Bog
National Natural Landmark: Beckley Bog Norfolk Designation Date: 1977 I do not hesitate when asked what my favorite area of Connecticut is. While I love many diverse parts of the state from Stonington’s downtown borough to Yale’s historic buildings and New Canaan’s modernist neighborhoods, the extreme northwest … [Read more...]
Haystack Mountain Tower
Haystack Mountain Lookout Tower Norfolk Stone Tower (34 feet) on Haystack Mountain summit (1716 feet) (For more on the hike up and the state park, Go here. This page is only about the tower.) The 34 foot high stone tower at the summit of Haystack Mountain (1716 feet above sea level) allows visitors to see Long … [Read more...]