This guide will give you everything you need to enjoy this trail including parking, pictures, gpx files and videos as well as some background history and hints and tips.

Ives Trail Summary

The Ives Trail Greenway is a 20 mile trail has an abandoned castle, the haunts of famous American composer Charles Ives and winds through the Ridgefield, Redding and Danbury areas of Connecticut. It has varied terrain from winding rocky forest paths, lakeside ambles and mountain peaks with wonderful views. The single most surprising thing for me was that despite never being more than about 2 miles from a town this trail felt like a true hidden wilderness. The best section is a loop that’s accessible in the Tarrywile Park preserve but almost all of this trail is well worth the trip.

A Symphony – New England Holidays

I recently found one of the red and yellow markers for the Ives Trail while out running in the Hemlock Hills and decided to run/hike the entire trail on New Years Eve day from sunrise to sunset.

The Trail is named after Charles Ives who is an American Composer born in Danbury CT who was renowned for his modern and eclectic music style.

Three Places in New England

The trail crosses Route 7 and through Wooster Mountain State Park to the existing trail systems in Ridgefield’s Bennetts Pond Park and Pine Mountain Park.

The trail extends twenty miles, from Redding Open Space to Terre Haute in Bethel, northwesterly to Rogers Park in Danbury, past the Charles Ives Homestead, and then southerly through Tarrywile Park.

West to East – Sunrise to Sunset

I set off from the easterly point of the trail from the trail head parking lot at Bennets Pond State Park and left my car parked there for the day. The trail heads generally north towards the Wooster Mountain State Park and Pine Mountain Reserve. Pine Mountain is the location of a shelter that Charles Ives used to use when he lived in the area.

Into Tarrywile Park

After crossing Moses Mountain the trail heads north east into Tarrywile Park where the trail splits into a loop option and a section that heads towards Hearthstone Castle and the birthplace of Charles Ives. This is potentially the best part of the trail as there are a number of options if you are looking for 5 to 10 miles of hiking in the most dramatic part of this trail.

The Obligatory USA Abandoned Cars in Woods

Once in the Tarrywile Park you are greeted with two abandoned cars which Ive come to find act as ‘gatekeepers’ to many nature preserves in Connecticut. The trail leads through the park and towards Heathstone Castle.

Heartstone Castle was built between 1895 and 1899. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It has also been known as Parks’ Castle and as The Castle. The property includes four contributing buildings and three other contributing structures. From a lack of action/money from the town of Danbury this castle is now sadly in a very poor state and with the loss of its roof has had most of its once lavish interior rotten away.

Park in the Dark

After the castle I took a short out and back part of the trail to visit the birthplace house of Charles Ives which is on the route ( just in the south of Danbury) and then continued on the southern heading part of the trail towards West Redding where I arrived off the trail just as the sun was setting.

Verdict

The Ives Trail Greenway is a 20 mile trail has an abandoned castle, the haunts of famous American composer Charles Ives and winds through the Ridgefield, Redding and Danbury areas of Connecticut. It has varied terrain from winding rocky forest paths, lakeside ambles and mountain peaks with wonderful views. The single most surprising thing for me was that despite never being more than about 2 miles from a town this trail felt like a true hidden wilderness. The best section is a loop that’s accessible in the Tarrywile Park preserve but almost all of this trail is well worth the trip.

Parking Info

There are a large number of parking options along the route. click on the map here to see them.

Garmin GPX files and maps

Click here to get the full info an map and downloadable gpx file for this trail.

Distance – 20 miles Total Elevation 3600 ft