Hiking the West Block of Naugatuck State Forest in Connecticut
Naugatuck State Forest is another excellent hike in the state of Connecticut! Although there were a couple misadventures, we still had a blast and highly recommend checking out this state forest!
West Block –> Naugatuck State Forest West Block Trail Map <–
East Block –> Naugatuck State Forest East Block Trail Map <–
Part I of our Naugatuck State Forest Series
In the video above we cover the first part of our hike through the west block of Naugatuck State Forest which focuses mainly on the blue trail. This is of course before we had to turn around due to ice covered trails.
You can see some really neat waterfalls along this trail as well as some neat rock features in this valley between the hills.
WATERFALLS EVERYWHERE
We honestly had no idea we were going to see the amazing falls along this blue trail. I figured the falls would be closer to what we saw at Kettletown State Park (which really isn’t too far away from this forest), but its all about elevation. 🙂
One neat feature about the first big set of falls we encountered was what looked to be some sort of cave behind them. It was obviously a bit too cold to try to get anywhere near that water while we were hiking, but that could be fun to check out in the summer months.
EVEN MORE WATERFALLS
The 2nd set of falls kind of reminded of a miniature Bash Bish Falls that we saw up in Massachusetts with the way it splits down the center. It is most definitely a beautiful area to hike along and I’m sure it would continue to be beautiful if we would have been able to hike entire trail.
Unfortunately as you probably saw in Part I of our video series, the trail was nearly completely covered in a sheet of ice, which prevented us from continuing on. If only we had brought ice skates for our dog. 😉
Part II of our Naugatuck State Forest Series
ITS VISTA TIME!
Above is the 2nd part of our Naugatuck State Forest video series. In this part of the hike we venture up to two different overlooks still within the west block of the state forest.
Although part of the hike did involve some detours on a paved road, we still really enjoyed the experience and getting out in nature before we got about 6 inches of snow that night. 🙂
BOO GRAFFITI.
The first view point was beautiful, minus the graffiti on the rocks and CT 8 filled with traffic haha. Whenever confronted with these distractions, it does take away from that “one with nature” feel, but still beautiful nonetheless. Not to mention it always feels like a great feat when reaching up to the peak of any tall hill or mountain.
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES
After hiking up and back down the red trail, we decided to go ahead and take the white trail to start making our way up to the other overlook with the American flag.
Luckily this white trail took us right by the same beautiful stream that carried water down to the falls we saw earlier. And sure enough, we came across another beautiful set of falls right in front of a small wooden bridge.
From the white trail we hopped over to the orange trail and then to the purple trail that took us to the next overlook. As Deanna said in the video, the orange trail definitely had a different feel to it than the rest of the forest. Different trees, different terrain, or something made it feel like we were in a totally new area.
ENJOYING THE OVERLOOKS
Once making our way down the short purple trail, we made hiked to the 2nd beautiful overlook…with the same caveats (CT 8) as before. There are a couple other overlooks within the forest that we hope to get back to at some point, but between the waterfalls and the overlooks we did see…we were left quite satisfied.
OTHER NEARBY HIKING
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Be sure to check out Deanna’s food blog when you get the chance as well! She has some awesome healthy recipes on her website that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!
Adventure On!
