Hiking Pootatuck State Forest in Connecticut
If you are ever in Connecticut and want some awesome views without the intense hike to go along with it, Pootatuck State Forest might be a destination worth looking into. Located just north of Danbury, CT near Candlewood Lake, this forest is a beautiful place to get out in nature and forget all the hustle and bustle of your work week!
This is also technically part of Squantz Pond State Park, but the majority of that state park is of course Squantz Pond itself.
TRAIL MAP
Here is the trail map you can reference as we show you around our hike –> Pootatuck State Forest Trail Map <–
EPIC VIEW NEAR THE PARKING LOT
You don’t always get an epic view like this less than a mile into a hike, but on this adventure we were a little spoiled to have the truck do most of the elevation gaining for us.
Well, at least until we started to hike the rest of the trail, but that is further along on this adventure. For now, check out all these cool photos Deanna took of the two different overlooks located at the top of Pine Hill. 🙂
GOTTA LOVE THOSE BLUES
Not going to lie, it would definitely be a lot more fun if these views had a tad more color if Spring decided to hurry up and show its face. Although, the fact that these hikes lately have been relatively bug free, we can’t complain all too much.
I can only imagine how beautiful this vista would be during the peak of fall foliage though. I bet that view is a must see among all this beautiful vegetation.
FUN AND CHALLENGING TRAILS
After taking our time and soaking in all the views from the top of the overlooks, we gradually worked our way down the hill side. Losing more and MORE elevation and starting to wonder how far we would actually go before needing to start our way back up the large hill.
We did, however, eventually make it down to what is know on the trail map as the Forest/CCC road. I think I mentioned it was called the “fire” road in the video. Yea, not sure where I got that from, but it seemed to stick in my head.
Deciding to take this road up and around the north end of the forest rather than taking the yellow trail back up the hill was helpful. Considering the road looked to be a longer path, we figured it would at least be a gradual climb rather than the much shorter yellow trail.
Looking back, we were glad that we decided to go this route as the views and waterfalls we found along the way were worth the extra distance.
SMALL BUT PRETTY WATERFALLS
Ok, so this wasn’t exactly the epic waterfall I was mentioning we saw later on the trail, but we always welcome a bubbling brook by our side while hiking. Water features are probably one of my favorite types of finds while exploring nature as it really brings the wildlife to life.
WAIT, THE ENTIRE HILL IS A WATERFALL?!
Turns out our small waterfall discovery actually was just the beginning of our water features to be found that day. Before heading back south on the Forest Road, we first came across a much larger creek with you guessed it, larger waterfalls. I would quick call these raging falls, but there was still a good amount of water pouring down the side of the hill.
It amazed me how clear all the water was around in this area. Felt like I could just take a sip right out of the creek…although I would never recommend such a thing haha.
GREAT HIKE, GREAT WORKOUT
We don’t have a specific picture of the incline we had to “climb” in order to get back to the top of the hill, but for me it was quite the work out. It might just be because of the lack of exercise this past winter, or the fact that it really is probably good 300-400 ft gradual climb back up to the top of the hill. Either way, bring plenty of water and enjoy the awesome scenery along the way!
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Also be sure to check out Deanna’s food blog when you get the chance! A lot of awesome and healthy recipes to use there!
Adventure On!
