The Quinebaug Trail is an 8 Mile CFPA Blue Blaze Trail near Voluntown and Griswold in CT. It is located in Pachaug State Forest and disappointing in almost every way. The nearby Pachaug, Narrangansett and Nehantic should always be a preference to this one.
In Depth Guide
Shona and I went to do this trail so you don’t have to. It may sound harsh but this trail has almost no redeeming features. The northern 3 miles struggles along a rocky wide path with very little to see and past a heavily flooded pond area. The southern section is better and has woodland areas but still no real highlights or features and the whole trail has significant damage from logging activity and ATV vehicles. The only reason you might come here is to avoid seeing anyone else.
Pachaug State Forest
The 30,000 acre Pachaug State Forest was the first state forest in Connecticut and grew rapidly as local farmers came to realize how poor the soil was for growing crops.
There are three decent trails near this one you should consider as an alternative, these are Pachaug, Narrangansett and Nehantic.
Trails nearby
The trail links up with The Nehantic Trail near its southern terminus.
Your assessment of the Quinebaug Trail was kind, we hiked it end to end and it was the worst trail we’ve been on. It is more or a ATV access trail, very little would be called a trail. Hiking north to south we found the trail closed where the lumbering has taken place, going through that section was tough walking with no blazes to speak of. It should be taken off the list of Blue Blaze Trails.
I have to agree with you Jedd. I try and be positive but realistic with my guides and to say this trail is one of the worst Blue Blazes in CT is not an exaggeration. Given that we all have a greater need to seek distance and solitude right now on trail I think its one thats still worth considering, but unless it serves a purpose linking up other potential trails Im inclined to agree with you.
I’ve been using this trail for years on my mountain bike with the understanding that it shares roughly 90% of the trail with Pachaug’s motorcycle enduro loop, which is one of the few places that dirt bikes are allowed to ride. I have no idea why, when blue blaze trails are typically “foot travel only,” the two trail systems share this path. In my opinion, the CPFA should re-label this trail with white blaze and cancel it out of the blue blaze registry. Otherwise, they should consider rerouting it so that the two systems no longer share the same path. With all of this said, I ran an out and back on this two days ago with the lovely addition of billowing piles of oak leaves. All of those softball sized bowling balls remained tucked away, where they waited to devastate my feet and ankles.