The 5 mile Naugatuck Trail near Bethany and Beacon Falls in Connecticut is a Blue Blazed Hiking Trail and does a good job of hiding.

Its well worth a visit but a combination of no online maps ( until this blog!) tricky parking ( until this blog !) and the fact that the first half a mile of the trail at each end is rather unappealing means that this is a very overlooked trail that deserves more attention. It also features in my Best Trails of Connecticut Guide here.

This blog gives you everything you need for parking tips, an online map with downloadable gpx files, pictures, tips and video so that you can get the most out of this 5.8 mile trail.

Naugatuck State Forest

The Naugatuck Trail lacks a lot of information online, but it certainly isn’t more that 5 miles long ( Wikipedia says its over 7 miles). Its situated in Naguatuck State Forest in the New Haven region of Connecticut.

Naugatuck State Forest covers almost 5,000 acres and is spread across Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Oxford, Bethany, Hamden, Cheshire, Ansonia, and Seymour. It is organized into five Blocks, named West, East, Mt. Sanford, Quillinan Reservoir, and Great Hill.

Origins

The Forest originated with Harris Whittemore, an industrialist and member of the State Forest and Park Commission. In 1921, Mr. Whittemore began buying parcels of land in the Naugatuck Valley, intending to donate them to the State. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to realize his dream, but after his death in 1928, his family continued to acquire land, and in 1931, almost 2,000 acres were donated in his memory.

The name Naugatuck is said to be an indigenous term (in the Native American Algonquian language) for either “one tree” or “fork of the river.”

The Trail

We chose to hike/ run this from West to East so that some of the ‘highlights’ came towards the end of the trail. Given the choice we would recommend you do the same! The trail from the West has an ugly start. You literally walk along Route 8 for half a mile ! Try and keep looking left at the sheer rock and trees and ignore the cars. This trail does its best to put you off early, but after just over half a mile you leave the road area and begin a series of uphill switchbacks through the woods that follows a beautiful stream system.

After about 1.5 miles you will pass through a stone wall which marks the end of any online digital mapping of the trail! Luckily we saved the file for the end of this blog for you to download. The trails is well marked with blue blazes. We didn’t see anyone on the trail that day, it was fantastic.

There are a couple of things about this trail that are unique. Firstly the rocks seem to glisten with Quartz here much more than any other trail I’ve been on in CT, You also go through a wonderful rocky mini gorge at about 3 miles and from time to time wind through mossy paths surrounded by Mountain Laurel ( the official flower of Connecticut) branches. Its really very very peaceful and pretty. We did this in January and have a strong feeling that some areas of this path could easily be overgrown too much in Spring /Summer.

Beacon Hill Viewpoint

After about 4 ish miles you will see a turning to your right to go up to the viewpoint on Beacon Hill. Its well worth the out and back to visit the huge boulder at the viewpoint. Follow the Blue Yellow blazes and its just over half a mile to the summit. Its clear people use this to picnic and light fires, although with the surrounding trees I doubt there is much of a view in the summer, but that doesn’t stop it being well worth the visit. The detour only adds about a mile to the route and you get to use a path with huge solid chunks of quartz in the rock.

After you get back from the out and back its less than a mile as you amble down the mountain following a stream system and eventually hook to the right to take you to the end of the trail by the road. I took 30 secs of video during the walk down the mountain.

Summary

This little gem of a trail is a perfect place to go for a few hours. If you choose to do an out and back then park at the eastern end. It surprises me how few people use this trail, but it doesn’t give up its secrets easily due to the parking and the initial path along a busy road.

In the winter be prepared for wet conditions underfoot, use waterproof shoes/ socks or hiking boots and in the Summer we suspect some parts of the trail may get heavily overgrown. This trail isnt the easiest for parking etc but is well worth a visit.

Parking . Dedicated parking area for about 4 cars here at the Western End http://goo.gl/maps/2rSB6 . Parking at the Eastern end on Beacon Rd is on the road with room for a few cars literally just off the road, its rutted and uneven so 4 wheel drive vehicle recommended. Details here http://goo.gl/maps/wrmmR

Instead of trying to squeeze into the parking area by the trail, I recommend using Bethany Veteran’s Memorial Park, 270 Beacon Rd. (Rt. 42), Bethany. From Rt. 8 Exit 23, take Rt. 42 East for 4 miles. Park is on the right about ¾ of a mile past the Beacon Falls-Bethany border. Go all the way down the driveway and park by the pond. You can loop through the park and cross directly to the Naugatuck Trail.

Distance – Including Beacon Hill diversion 5.6 miles – Elevation – 1100 ft of elevation gain in total.

Interactive map of all the Connecticut Blue Blaze Trails trails click here

Garmin Connect Account of our route with GPX download and info