Bridge Over Troubled... Dam? Route 34 and The Stevenson Dam Monroe & Oxford Stop me if you've heard this one before: "the Stevenson Dam is one of only two dams in the country that has a public road over the top." Wait. That's ridiculous, even if I've seen it in print. The actual claim is more specific: "the … [Read more...]
Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary West
Rockin' the House Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary West, Oxford November 2020 Over my many years of hiking and writing about many hundreds of trails in Connecticut, I've had a few bad takes on mountain bikers. My thinking on the topic has evolved over the years and I've come to respect and appreciate what the New England … [Read more...]
Naugatuck State Forest Intro
Naugatuck State Forest Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Cheshire, Hamden, Naugatuck, Oxford, Prospect & Seymour Naugatuck State Forest consists of five separate blocks in the towns listed above. They are not necessarily all connected either. Basically, when you drive up Route 8 through the valley south of Waterbury … [Read more...]
Seymour Land Conservation Trust Intro
Seymour Land Conservation Trust Seymour and Oxford I've become fairly adept at writing these trails orgs' intro pages. I can usually rip through putting one together in under ten minutes. Not so with Seymour's Land Conservation Trust. Their website in its current (September 2018) state is terri-- let's say, … [Read more...]
Black Hog Brewing Company
A Hog and Ox(ford) Black Hog Brewing Company, Oxford March 2018 When Black Hog burst onto the Connecticut beer scene in the summer of 2014, they did a lot of things right. This was likely due to the backgrounds of the guys who run the joint. Brothers Jason and Tom Sobocinski come from a Polish/Italian family … [Read more...]
Southford Falls Covered Bridge
In Oxford, Not Southford, Which is in Southbury Southford Falls Covered Bridge Multiple visits There’s a lot going on over at Southford Falls State Park which is almost entirely in Oxford (rather than Southbury). To wit: A waterfall! Trails! Trails again! A Watchtower! And this, a cute little … [Read more...]
CTMQ’s Guide to Oxford
Everything Oxford 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” Oxford CTMQ-style... as well as the other 168 towns, cities, and boroughs in Connecticut. After all, that is the ultimate goal of … [Read more...]
3 Oxford Land Trust Trails
Three FailTrails Oxford March 2018 Geared up and ready to hit Oxford’s trails on a glorious early spring day... Just me and my son Damian. Fantastic. I drove out to route 188 and began searching for the trailheads. First, a slight detour to find Indian Rock on Punkup Road. Success! Off to a good start. From … [Read more...]
Indian Rock
Indian Rock Punkup Road, Oxford I have no recollection as to how I became aware of this roadside rock. It could have been a comment or an email or even a passing conversation with someone. I apologize to that someone for forgetting your important contribution to the CTMQ canon. That important contribution is... … [Read more...]
Oxford’s Town Trails
Oxford’s Town Trails Oxford has a lot of beauty spots, but not too many trails for some reason. Perhaps they like to keep their secret to themselves. The town has a land trust with trailed properties, but they are elusive and difficult to pin down. There's plenty of state land here, but none of it is really pushed … [Read more...]