The Zoar Trail is a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) Blue-Blazedhiking trail “system” in the lower Housatonic River valley in Fairfield County and is entirely in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown in the lower block of Paugussett State Forest.

This trail has it all, A legend of a sunken town, a superb waterfall, epic lake and some unusual quotes or lyrics written on trees. Its also not far from Lake Lillinoah where we explored another superb trail called the Sunny Valley Preserve Trail.

History of the Zoar Trail

The location of the village occupied by the Pootatuck Indians in the Lake Zoar area is said to have been flooded by the damming of the Housatonic River and the creation of Lake Zoar.

The Pootatuck (often spelled Pohtatuck in colonial era documents and related to the name Potatuck) were a branch of the Paugussett tribe who lived in Woodbury, Southbury and Newtown.

The European settlers found Pootatuck native Americans living along the Housatonic and Pootatuck Rivers near the Sandy Hook area of Newtown, Connecticut (an area which was called “Pohtatuck” before the name was changed to “Sandy Hook”). Newtown, known as Quanneapague, was purchased from the Pohtatuck in 1705 and incorporated as a town in 1711. Most of the original settlers were farmers from Stratford and Milford, Connecticut.

Lake Zoar and Trail

Lake Zoar was created in 1919 by the construction of the Stevenson Dam to produce hydro-electric power and to provide a Housatonic River vehicle crossing .

The car park for the trail is on the banks of Lake Zoar. The trail is a loop marked by the famous ‘blue blazes’ and is relatively easy to follow for the entire 6 miles. We did the trail anti clockwise and think this is the best way to enjoy the trail. As a loop you naturally return to the car park at the end which makes things easy.

Natures Windchimes

We went along the trail in early February with biting cold winds and a frozen Lake Zoar. As we set off along the trail that follows the lake for about 2 miles we could hear the ice banging against itself in the lake caused by the wind and creating a ‘wind chime’ effect I caught on the video above.

There are a couple of areas on this part of the trail that need a small scramble over rocks but nothing too tricky.

Prydden Brook Falls

After about 2 miles you leave the shoreline trail and ascend up on to the ridge through the woods. Once at the top you’ll see a sign off to the right for the Prydden Waterfall which is just off the trail .

This waterfall begins as a plunge and ends with several sections of cascades. The main attraction is a 25-foot multi-tiered plunge, which is surrounded by a heavy growth of moss. The entire feature receives little exposure to the sun, but on a clear day the sun sneaks its way through the trees onto the waterfall and illuminates the water and the vibrant greens of the moss. We saw it when it was half frozen and half flowing which made it even more beautiful.

Prydden is an old English name, originating from Priding in the Wheatenhurst rural district of Gloucestershire County in England, an area where I have done extensive running on the Monarch’s Way .

From there the trail meandered along the ridge , with a few very pretty stream crossings ( some bridges and even a simple log balance in one place!

The Return Trail along the Ridge

The section along the top of the ridge is perhaps the best bit of trail, you get areas of large rocky outcrops, dense forest and small streams to cross. As the farthest point from the car park I suspect this is where you are least likely to see anyone else either.

The Wordy Trees

After an area with a few rock scrambles over areas I’ve come to call ‘gods gravel’ and as you near the last mile or so of the trail you come across a large number of trees and some rocks with sentences/lyrics on them. We didn’t recognise what book or poem or song they were from. A search online has revealed absolutely no clues !

Once past the ‘Wordy Trees’ its a downward slope past and round a spectacular small cliff/overhang with trees that look like they are about to fall off behind you, and eventually you’ll find yourself back in the carpark where you started.

Summary

You will need to concentrate in places with the blue blaze markings, we took a few wrong turns on the route and we would say this is a moderate trail for difficulty for a hiker or runner. I suspect that this area could be a shocker for biting insects in the Summer so go armed with bug spray.

This trail is really rather special and is likely to rank as one of my favourite Connecticut Blue Blaze Trails.

Summary – Distance 6.5 miles – Elevation – 1300ft of gain.

Parking Info