The Shenipsit Trail is a 50 mile CFPA trail running North South through Connecticut starting in the north in the Shenipsit State Forest near Stafford and the Massachusetts border and finishing in the south Near East Hampton. Although much of the trail is uninspiring there are some interesting areas to visit including a rail trail, mountain overlooks and popular Case Mountain Forest Area.
In Depth Guide
There are a some areas to this long trail that are well worth visiting, but this trail as a whole is about quantity over quality. At 50 miles its one of the longest CFPA trails in CT but there are long sections that are dull, poorly marked or downright ruined by ATV activity. More than half of this trail is ‘trail for trails sake’.
There are many other trails in the various parts that the Shenipsit Trail passes through that are better, but that being said some of the sections have some really stunning highlights so this guide sets out to let you know where they are so you can avoid all the rest.
The Shenipsit Striders
One of the largest trail running communities in CT are known as the Shenipsit Striders and through a quirk of availability, good weather and luck we chose to do the entire trail in one go on a day that the Striders were having a relay race called ‘The Real World’ in both directions on the trail. This meant we got to see and cheer on lots of running teams as they passed us in both directions.
Shenipsit State Forest and Soapstone Mountain
The Shenipsit State Forest is made up of 11 parcels of land and also houses the CCC Museum. The newly rebuilt Fire Tower on the 1075 ft peak of Soapstone Mountain in the Shenipsit Forest is the highest point of the entire trail and offers fantastic views of the surrounding area.
Soapstone Mountain is named after the colonial era quarry and the forest area is littered with large glacial erratic boulders left there after the last ice age.
Rail Trail at Hop River Linear Park
This 4 mile section of the Shenipsit trail The trail was originally part of the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill train line from Hartford to Willimantic which was completed in 1849. Freight trains used the line through the 1960s.
The last train ran on September 29, 1970 and you can still see signs of the railway sleepers and stations as you go along it today.
Case Mountain Park
In the middle of the trail is Case Mountain area which is near Glastonbury and is probably the best part of the trail. It links up with Gay City Trail nearby too. This pretty section of forest has a large network of trails and glacial boulders and moderately hard hiking terrain.
Northern Meshomasic State Forest
The section of the Meshomasic north of CT2 is well worth a visit too. Meshomasic State Forest began as 70 acres (280,000 m2), acquired for $105.00 in 1903. It was the first State Forest in Connecticut, and the second in the country (Pennsylvania had the first).
The forest was originally purchased to provide private landowners with examples of good Forest management practices and that still shows in how beautiful it is today.
We went through the woods mid June so we got to see lots of white flowering mountain laurel which was a special treat.
Shonas First 50 Mile Run
Our visit to this trail was also Shonas first 50 mile run. We set off around sunrise at 6am and ran for 15 hours until just into sunset.
Summary
The Shenipsit Trail is a 50 mile CFPA trail running North South through Connecticut starting in the north in the Shenipsit State Forest near Stafford and the Massachusetts border and finishing in the south Near East Hampton. Although much of the trail is uninspiring there are some interesting areas to visit including a rail trail, mountain overlooks and popular Case Mountain Forest Area.
Parking Info
Northern Trail Head
Southern Trail Head
Soapstone Mountain Parking
Rail Trail Parking
Case Mountain Area Parking
