Hiking Centennial Watershed State Forest in Connecticut
If you are ever visiting around Danbury or Norwalk Connecticut, Centennial Watershed State Forest is about half way between the two cities and we recommend on checking out! Just off to the west of the Saugatuck Reservoir is a beautiful area full of trails and neat water features.
Before we dig into this any deeper, here is the handy dandy map –> Centennial Watershed State Forest Trail Map<–
And FYI, although you may see Blaze hiking along side us in the video (top of the post), it turns out that dogs really aren’t allowed at this state forest. OUR BAD.
THE GREAT LEDGE
So we didn’t really capture a lot of photos of the hike up to the “Great Ledge”, but getting to the ledge really was the goal of the day. Unfortunately as I just mentioned, dogs aren’t really allowed on the trails, so we did call it quits a little shorter than we would have liked.
SOME CREEK CROSSINGS
The trails leading up to the “Great Ledge” are fairly flat for the most part. There are some sections where you have to gain a little elevation, but nothing too challenging. Overall I would rate the hike up to this area of the park as easy. Not quite wheel chair accessible, but easy for anyone just out for a fun stroll in the woods.
Do keep in mind, there are a couple creek crossings, so I’d wear boots, or in our case we wore our hiking sandals. Also check yourselves for ticks afterwards (like you should on every hike in Connecticut) because there are some sections where the brush can get a little thick.
BEAUTIFUL VIEWS
The view from the “Great Ledge” was pretty fantastic. Since there aren’t a ton of competing hillsides in the area, you can see for quite the distance past the reservoir off to the east.
The trees were just now starting to show some green on them so we were happy with whatever view with color we could find. Winter has finally taken a back seat and we are ready to enjoy the warmer temperatures!
NOT TECHNICALLY DOG FRIENDLY
Since we did call it quits after someone (coincidentally walking their own dog) told us that technically dogs weren’t allowed at the park, we decided to head back to the truck and take it around to see what other views we could find nearby.
According to the map I linked at the top of the page (ok here is the link again), there were a few parking areas where you could grab some views of the nearby reservoir from the sides of the road. We figured this was perfect with the pups so we didn’t get on anyone’s nerves.
ONE LAST VIEW!
The view from that parking area did not disappoint in the least. I am still not positive if kayaking is allowed on this reservoir, but I did see some signs talking about fishing…so it might be possible. I didn’t see a perfect area to actually put the kayak in, but man this would be a beautiful area to do so if it IS allowed.
If we get the chance to dig more into this, I will update the post and tell you what I find. If you happen to know and came across this post, feel free to let us all know in the comment section below. 🙂
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Adventure On!
