Hiking Rock Lot and Scott Preserve in Connecticut

Odds are if you are reading this blog post you have no idea what the Rock Lot or Scott Preserve is. I don’t blame you because it wasn’t until a month or so ago that we heard of the trails from a good friend of ours who rented a house near the location.

HIDDEN GEM

This hidden gem of a trail system is located off of Peaceable Street between Redding and Ridgefield Connecticut. We ended up checking out all three entrances to the park and the only one with decent parking space is the Peaceable entrance. I’m guessing the other two entrances are really just meant for people that live nearby to take a stroll.

PARKING AREAS

The area circled in the image above is where you can park. There is only room for 2-3 vehicles there, but I don’t expect you all to show up at once. 🙂 We were the only ones hiking through the preserve the day we were visiting.

TRAIL MAP ABOVE

Deanna took a picture of the trail map so you all have more resources than we did when we showed up. Generally however, there is one main loop (the white trail markers) with a few connecting trails in between.

We decided to take Joan’s trail from the Peaceable park entrance all the way to the Seventy Acre Road entrance. From there we scooted around the eastern side (via the Duncan Munro Trail) of the Rock Lot/Scott Preserve so we could check out the little vista.

STACK THEM ROCKS.

On of the features that stands out the most at this particular park are the stacked rocks near the Peaceable entrance of the park. As soon as you enter the park you are surrounded by rock artwork setup by some very patient or bored set of individuals.

I must admit that this is really neat and honestly don’t know how they got some of the rocks balanced the way they did. Deanna and I tried to contribute some smaller structures, but nothing quite as complex as what was there before.

MORE STACKED ROCKS

Take the above picture for an example. The only way I would have gotten that thing to balance is to cover the bottom of the rock with super glue. Granted we didn’t go around touching everything to ensure they weren’t glued, we are assuming they are legitimate balanced rock structures. Please leave them be if you do visit so others can enjoy them as well. 🙂

GREAT LITTLE HIKING TRAILS

As we proceeded along the white marked trail we admired the path the owners of this property laid out. It was very scenic, not in terms of a vista from the top of a mountain, but really enjoying well preserved settings in nature. The moss growing off of this rock for example was very impressive when the light through the canopy above skimmed across the surface.

EPIC MOSS COVERED ROCKS

As you can see in the image above, a spider decided to make this his mountainous home. I’d say he made a good choice in locations. 🙂

AND THE VISTA

Sometimes all you really need for a view is a utility that keeps on top of its tree trimming. 🙂 These clearings were really the only places we could see for miles away, but they were a nice mix of scenery from the more compact wooded areas.

BEAUTIFUL ROCK OUTCROPPINGS

It really is the small details throughout this park that makes it a really fun place to hike. Whoever laid down the paths here thought long and hard to make the best out of the smaller preserved nature area.

Little things such as scurrying across small rock paths (as shown above) or going along rock cliff sides. The entire area is definitely unique and these trails bring out the best of the area.

WELL MAINTAINED TRAIL SYSTEM

They were even thoughtful enough to put a birdhouse on a telephone pole in one of the clearings (picture above). 🙂 This is definitely  a well kept and maintained trail system that has a vibe somewhere between a friend’s huge backyard and a state park.

FERNGULLY

Don’t forget to check out “FernGully” (my self-declared name of this area of the reserve) as this is such a beautiful sight to see! The path carefully treks through the middle of this area to make sure all the wild ferns are preserved for your viewing pleasure.

OTHER NEARBY HIKES

Topstone Park

Saugatuck Falls

Devils Den Preserve

Seth Low Pierrepont State Park

Weir Farm National Historic Site

Centennial Watershed State Forest

NOTE FROM WRITER

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Adventure On!