Hiking around Peoples State Forest in Connecticut
After setting up camp at White Pines Campground in northern Connecticut, Peoples State Forest was the first place on our list to hike at. I must say that when we booked this campground we were not expecting to find any great vistas in this area.
I knew there were around 4-5 state parks within a half hour’s drive of this campground, but didn’t know much about the details.
FREE FOR THESE VIEWS!? OK!
Then I saw Peoples State Forest to the east of the campground and decided I might as well research into that a bit to see what it had to offer. I saw some pictures of the overlooks and showed Deanna. We were sold and knew we had to visit it while camping in the region.
When we first showed up to the state forest and saw the main parking lot, it looked as though there was a fee. Still not sure if there was or not because we kept on driving up the main road seeing if we could find parking closer to the trail we wanted to hike.
It is always good to get the extra exercise, but it was going to be a hot day and we didn’t want to push our dog to hard after his heat stroke episode earlier this year. Luckily for this particular trail head there was quite a bit of parking along the roadside. A lot of the parking kind of looked like it was designated for fishing, but this one looked big enough for hikers as well.
JESSIE GERARD TRAIL
On this particular hike we went with the Jessie Gerard trail mainly because well, we really like our vistas. Don’t get me wrong, I love hiking through nature regardless, but there is something special about being able to gaze off miles into the distance.
On hikes like this you know you are going up a steep trail, but it is sometimes surprising getting to an overlook and seeing how much progress you actually made.
TRAIL BETWEEN MODERATE AND DIFFICULT
I would probably rate this trail somewhere between moderate and difficult. It is definitely a workout to get to the vista but still nothing compared to some of the other hikes we have encountered such as Breakneck Ridge in New York. It is always hard to give a trail a difficulty rating because each trail is unique in its own way.
Some trails have a lot of loose gravel/leaves that may make it more challenging getting up certain portions. Other trails may have good footing but the incline can just be completely ridiculous. It really just depends what kind of hikes you prefer, but obviously Deanna and I like making our way up the sides of mountains.
If you compare this to lets say a 14er (mountain with the elevation of 14,000ft) in Colorado…of course this would probably be considered easy. All a matter of perspective and previous hiking experience. 🙂
EPIC VISTA
EPIC VISTAAlthough it was a bit warm when we hiked, it was hard to beat the weather that day. With the mostly clear skies, minus the clouds in the upper atmosphere, you could see for miles. Sometimes I just want to set up camp and stay at each mountain top we climb. Nature offers so many beautiful views and each view unique to that very day.
HISTORY ABOUT THE AREA
Rather than pretending like I know all the history about the area, here is a link you can learn more about the lighthouse trail that we took while in Peoples State Forest.
When I first heard “lighthouse” I was like…sooo, we are in a woods with no large bodies of water nearby. I see absolutely no reason to have a lighthouse around here. Turns out the term lighthouse had nothing to do what we see along the sea shores, it is its own type of architecture. Learn something new everyday am I right?
Anyways, hope you enjoyed our video covering this hike in northern Connecticut!
OTHER NEARBY HIKES
White Memorial Conservation Center
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Adventure On!
