Seven Falls
Hike #81
Mattabesett Trail
Bear Hill Road (Middletown, CT) to Route 154/Saybrook Road (Haddam, CT)
Distance: 5.5 Miles
Date Hiked: 1/12/2014
Date Published: 1/13/2014
Hike #81
Mattabesett Trail
Bear Hill Road (Middletown, CT) to Route 154/Saybrook Road (Haddam, CT)
Distance: 5.5 Miles
Date Hiked: 1/12/2014
Date Published: 1/13/2014
I’ve slowly been making my way along the Mattabesett Trail since October of 2012. On my previous hike along the Mattabesett (# 41…in March of 2013); I was joined by a group of friends/family which included my dad, my friend Mark, and Roscoe. Of the group that hiked that day, only these three would join me for this hike. We were also joined by my dad’s friend Allan, who previously hiked with me on Hike # 78 through Westwoods in Guilford.
We all met at the parking location off of Saybrook Road (Route 154) on the Middletown/Haddam town line. There is a sizeable parking area here, on the side of the road right near Seven Falls State Park. Later in the day, our hike would take us through the park. But, for now, everyone piled into my Dodge Journey and we drove over to the other parking location…off of Bear Hill Road in Middletown.
Back in March, we made our way along the Mattabesett through the previous section…from River Road to Bear Hill Road…in the (somehow still left over) remnants of Winter Storm Nemo. As we set out on this hike, it was obvious we had traded the snow from that hike for mud.
From Bear Hill Road, the Mattabesett heads due south. After roughly a quarter of a mile, we came to a power line cut (the first of many power line cuts on this hike) and the junction with the northern terminus of the Blue/Yellow blazed Bear Hill Loop Trail.
We all met at the parking location off of Saybrook Road (Route 154) on the Middletown/Haddam town line. There is a sizeable parking area here, on the side of the road right near Seven Falls State Park. Later in the day, our hike would take us through the park. But, for now, everyone piled into my Dodge Journey and we drove over to the other parking location…off of Bear Hill Road in Middletown.
Back in March, we made our way along the Mattabesett through the previous section…from River Road to Bear Hill Road…in the (somehow still left over) remnants of Winter Storm Nemo. As we set out on this hike, it was obvious we had traded the snow from that hike for mud.
From Bear Hill Road, the Mattabesett heads due south. After roughly a quarter of a mile, we came to a power line cut (the first of many power line cuts on this hike) and the junction with the northern terminus of the Blue/Yellow blazed Bear Hill Loop Trail.
Beyond the power line cut, the trail crosses through a massive stand of mountain laurel. In some places, the mountain laurel is so thick on each side of the trail it has the feeling of a long tunnel.
Beyond the stand of mountain laurel, we enjoyed some seasonal views of Hubbard Pond...not really anything to write home about but we had seen it from the side of the road on the drive over. Around the 1.6 mile mark, we crossed the Bear Hill Loop Trail. Shortly after, we reached the summit of Bear Hill and I spotted a couple of USGS survey markers.
Around the 1.9 mile mark, the trail comes to and crosses an open rock face. The incline isn’t overly steep, but I imagine this section would’ve been challenging in the snow or rain. There is an unmarked side trail which goes around, but we stuck to the main trail.
Around the 2.2 mile mark, the Bear Hill Loop Trail comes back in from the left and joins with the main Mattabesett for about 1/10 of a mile before heading off to the left again.
At the 2.6 mile mark, we reached one of my favorite sections of this hike. The CFPA refers to this area as The Chinese Wall. It is basically a long, steep ledge which seems to appear out of thin air. The trail follows along the top of the ledge for about a third of a mile before doubling back along the base of it. This thing is massive and the descent is steep, but short. At the eastern edge of the wall, before the descent, there are some good seasonal views of the Connecticut River.
At the 2.6 mile mark, we reached one of my favorite sections of this hike. The CFPA refers to this area as The Chinese Wall. It is basically a long, steep ledge which seems to appear out of thin air. The trail follows along the top of the ledge for about a third of a mile before doubling back along the base of it. This thing is massive and the descent is steep, but short. At the eastern edge of the wall, before the descent, there are some good seasonal views of the Connecticut River.
Around the 3.2 mile mark, the trail crosses a stream and then follows it downhill for a good stretch. In the process, it crosses the steam a few more times. Because of the recent rain/snow melt, the stream was probably a little higher than normal. We crossed with ease each time so I imagine these crossings aren’t a problem no matter the season.
At the 3.9 mile mark, the trail comes to a junction with the southern terminus of the Bear Hill Loop Trail. At this point, we noticed a map which I thought was in an odd spot on the trail, near a small incline which made it somewhat difficult for more than two of us to read the map at the same time. The map provides distances from Bear Hill Road to Aircraft Road, which we were about to cross. I found it interesting to note that the Mattabesett between the two roads is 4 miles long; while the Bear Hill Loop Trail is only about 2.2 miles…talk about a shortcut!
At the 3.9 mile mark, the trail comes to a junction with the southern terminus of the Bear Hill Loop Trail. At this point, we noticed a map which I thought was in an odd spot on the trail, near a small incline which made it somewhat difficult for more than two of us to read the map at the same time. The map provides distances from Bear Hill Road to Aircraft Road, which we were about to cross. I found it interesting to note that the Mattabesett between the two roads is 4 miles long; while the Bear Hill Loop Trail is only about 2.2 miles…talk about a shortcut!
From what I understand, and could tell from our hike, the Bear Loop Hill Trail avoids some of the more challenging sections/highlights which the Mattabesett covers. Some would say that makes it an inferior trail…I’ll have to wait to make my own determination on a separate hike. The nice thing is, if you don’t have two cars, you can use the Bear Hill Loop Trail to create a loop hike.
At the four mile mark, we crossed Aircraft Road and ascended a short hill on the other side. Shortly after, we crossed Freeman Road and entered Seven Falls State Park. This section of park is probably less familiar to people than the picnic area right off of Route 154 (where we left the cars earlier in the day), but it is technically still part of the park…according to Google Maps anyway.
At the 4.3 mile mark, we reached another junction with a different loop trail. Here, at its northern terminus, the Seven Falls Loop Trail shoots off to the right (west). At 1.2 miles, the Blue/Yellow blazed trail provides an alternate path over to Route 154, and (similar to the Bear Hill Loop Trail) allows for hikers to do a loop hike. We stayed on the Mattabesett.
Shortly after the junction with the Seven Falls Loop Trail, we encountered a series of somewhat challenging switchbacks over a series of rocks. Roscoe had the most trouble but the humans were willing to help out. His new vest we got him for Christmas allowed us to hand him off to one another using the handle on the back of it…like a piece of 75 pound luggage. I always laugh at these moments now because he looks terrified, at first, but then wags his tail like crazy once he is back on solid ground…we’ve come a long way since New Year’s Day 2013.
Around the 4.7 mile mark, we reached another power line cut, which was quickly followed by another (the final power line cut of the day). This is easily the most challenging power line cut I’ve ever encountered. Instead of just heading back into the woods on the other side, the trail actually follows the southern edge of the cut for about half a mile. But, it doesn’t follow a jeep road or anything like that. Instead, it heads over several technical rock formations. Again, we made a plan to manage Roscoe and continued on our way.
Just before the end of the hike, as we were approaching Route 154 (Saybrook Road) we reached the area of Seven Falls State Park familiar to most people. We stopped along Bible Rock Brook to take a bunch of pictures, which I’ll include at the end of this recap. For now, just know that some of our party tried their best to find a shortcut across the brook. The rest of us stuck to the trail and crossed the brook when we reached Route 154.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable hike. I was a little concerned, as we were making our way, it wouldn’t live up to the standards set on our previous Mattabesett hikes, but the last mile really made a difference. Mark and I agreed that the technical aspect of climbing over the rock formations in the last mile made this hike the most challenging of the three we’ve done so far. Even so, it still wasn’t overly challenging and I look forward to my future hikes along the Mattabesett.
At the four mile mark, we crossed Aircraft Road and ascended a short hill on the other side. Shortly after, we crossed Freeman Road and entered Seven Falls State Park. This section of park is probably less familiar to people than the picnic area right off of Route 154 (where we left the cars earlier in the day), but it is technically still part of the park…according to Google Maps anyway.
At the 4.3 mile mark, we reached another junction with a different loop trail. Here, at its northern terminus, the Seven Falls Loop Trail shoots off to the right (west). At 1.2 miles, the Blue/Yellow blazed trail provides an alternate path over to Route 154, and (similar to the Bear Hill Loop Trail) allows for hikers to do a loop hike. We stayed on the Mattabesett.
Shortly after the junction with the Seven Falls Loop Trail, we encountered a series of somewhat challenging switchbacks over a series of rocks. Roscoe had the most trouble but the humans were willing to help out. His new vest we got him for Christmas allowed us to hand him off to one another using the handle on the back of it…like a piece of 75 pound luggage. I always laugh at these moments now because he looks terrified, at first, but then wags his tail like crazy once he is back on solid ground…we’ve come a long way since New Year’s Day 2013.
Around the 4.7 mile mark, we reached another power line cut, which was quickly followed by another (the final power line cut of the day). This is easily the most challenging power line cut I’ve ever encountered. Instead of just heading back into the woods on the other side, the trail actually follows the southern edge of the cut for about half a mile. But, it doesn’t follow a jeep road or anything like that. Instead, it heads over several technical rock formations. Again, we made a plan to manage Roscoe and continued on our way.
Just before the end of the hike, as we were approaching Route 154 (Saybrook Road) we reached the area of Seven Falls State Park familiar to most people. We stopped along Bible Rock Brook to take a bunch of pictures, which I’ll include at the end of this recap. For now, just know that some of our party tried their best to find a shortcut across the brook. The rest of us stuck to the trail and crossed the brook when we reached Route 154.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable hike. I was a little concerned, as we were making our way, it wouldn’t live up to the standards set on our previous Mattabesett hikes, but the last mile really made a difference. Mark and I agreed that the technical aspect of climbing over the rock formations in the last mile made this hike the most challenging of the three we’ve done so far. Even so, it still wasn’t overly challenging and I look forward to my future hikes along the Mattabesett.
For a map of this hike, along with elevation data, please click here.
Total 2014 Distance: 33.91 Miles