Hike #2: Hartman Park (AKA The Road Less Travelled)

The power lines on Chapman Ridge

Posting with our guide, 50 Hikes in Connecticut

Scott with 50 Hikes in Connecticut

One of the chimneys in the fortress

Standing on one of the chimneys

Turtle Rock

Laughing Rock

"The Snout"

Town: Lyme, CT
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 2:30 hours
Vertical rise: 600 feet
Features: Narrow ridges, historic fortresses


The second hike of Project Hike CT took place at Hartman Park in Lyme, CT. We arrived at this park by accident (Rocky Neck was full to capacity), and we're so glad that we did! The first thing that we noticed about this park was its general sense of solitude; considering that this park has over 10-miles of volunteer-made trails, we did not see one person during our visit. The other aspect that we noticed was the terrain; for a park that is so close to the beach, the terrain was completely representative of a forest.

My (Kristen's) favorite aspect of the hike was its historical nature; we passed foundations of old houses, fortresses, and even an old cemetery. The first ruins that we passed were those of an old barn; according to the Hardys' book, "this house was probably built in the early 17th century and burned after the Civil War" (74). After that, we climbed Chapman Ridge, and came to the top of Three Chimneys Ridge, which features powerlines (see pictures 1-3). The ridge is named for the remains of a fortress built by Lyonel Gardiner for the Puritan settlers of Saybrook Colony, of which three stone chimneys remain (see the 4th and 5th pictures).

At this point in our adventure, we had hiked about two miles. The second half of the hike was characterized by beautiful rock formations. In our pictures, you can see Laughing Rock, Turtle Rock and "the Snout." We also passed under beautiful cliffs, named the Coyote and Cave cliffs. The last feature of the hike was a small cemetery, home to a few unmarked graves (probably those of slaves and other lower class workers). Although this hike was much more difficult than the last, the scenery was gorgeous, and it was so interesting to see the ruins of colonial farms and the Puritan fort. Hartman Park is well-worth the drive- go visit this beautiful example of Connecticut wilderness!

Hike #1: Wadsworth Falls State Park (AKA Project Hike CT Begins)

Town: Middlefield, CT
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 1:45 hours
Vertical rise: 200 feet
Features: Two waterfalls, known as the "Little Falls" and the "Big Falls"

Today we went on our first hike of Project Hike CT at Wadsworth Falls State Park! We had a great time- the weather was great, the park rangers were friendly and the scenery was beautiful! We began our hike on the orange trail, which lead to the big falls (eventually). One of the most interesting features of this park is the Giant Mountain Laurel, which is one of the largest in the state. After crossing two mountain streams, we came to the little falls, which were beautiful. Around the same height as the big falls, the little falls had a significantly smaller water flow, which was great because we could cool off in the falls, but not get soaked.

After we climbed to the top of the little falls, we walked along train tracks to Cherry Hill Road, and actually hiked along the paved road for about 150 yards. Cherry Hill Road crosses over the Coginchaug River, which forms the big falls. The big falls were breathtaking, and we would have loved to jump in. However, we waited to go swimming at the beach near the main parking lot. With lush forests, beautiful waterfalls and sandy beaches, Wadsworth Falls State Park seems to have it all! Can't wait to go back!!!

First Blog Post!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by our first blog post!  We decided to create this blog to chronicle our latest hobby- hiking around the beautiful state of Connecticut! So, how did we come to this, our latest creation? We found this wonderful book in the Branford library this weekend, called 50 Hikes in Connecticut by David, Gerry and Sue Hardy. Thinking along the lines of Julie Powell a la Julie & Julia, we decided to do all 50 hikes in this book, and blog about our experience.

Feel free to share comments, questions, suggestions, or even come hiking with us some weekend! We look forward to sharing our new hobby with everyone!