Hike #14
Trails: Valley Falls Loop & Belding Path (Vernon, CT)
Distance: 7.2 miles
Approximate time to complete: 3.5 hours
Date Hiked: 11/17/2012
Date Published: 1/4/2013
In my previous recap, I wrote about Valley Falls Park and Belding Wildlife Management Area in Vernon. There are two additional trails in those areas (one trail in each area) that need to be completed in order to complete the CT 400. And, even though both trails are fairly short (Belding Path is really short at only a half of a mile), I enjoyed the area so much that I decided to make a day of it and hike some of the other trails too.
It was a Saturday morning and I decided to get up early and head off to the barber shop. The barber I go to is crazy busy and, even though I got there 35 minutes before they open, I was still the third person in line. I decided to bring Roscoe with me on this hike so he waited in the car. I wasn’t at the barber as long as I thought I would be so we were fortunate to hit the trail about an hour after sunrise.
From the Valley Falls Park lot, I decided to head north and cover the area of Belding Wildlife Management Area first. On my previous hike through the area, I was more concerned with how quickly I could finish. This time, I decided to take my time and read all of the information plaques throughout the area. I’m not sure how many there are...or how much time this added to my total hike...but none of the plaques are so in depth that it takes more than 30 seconds to read.
About a mile and a half in, the main Shenipsit Trail makes a hard left turn. In order to complete Belding Path, I made a right and followed the yellow blazed trail to the east (over the concrete bridge). Eventually, Belding Path turns south and leads you back to where you first entered the area. This is a nice little half mile trail. The information plaques, which I’ve previously noted, are scattered throughout the area. I took a lot of time to stop and read everything I could…even with Roscoe pushing ahead at every turn. I kept him leashed through this area because there are signs everywhere which make it clear that dogs should be leashed at all times. Usually I’ll see one or two signs which are easy to ignore and claim ignorance if anyone ever says anything. But, I didn’t want to take any chances…even if other folks let their dogs off leash (which they do).
Eventually, we made our way through the area just to the south of Belding Wildlife Management and back to Valley Falls Park. As we approached the parking lot/pavilion area, I could see where the sun had already dried portions of the previously frosted grass in the park. The portions of grass which were still shaded by the pavilion roof were still covered with frost and I thought it made a cool juxtaposition. I stopped here to enjoy the scene and rehydrate.
From the pavilion, I followed the Red Trail, also known as the Main Road Trail. The name is fitting since this is more of a road than it is a trail. After about a quarter of a mile, the Valley Falls Loop Trail (VFLT) starts on the left. All told, the VFLT is 3.7 miles. Here, at the humble beginning, it starts by heading uphill. The trail, which is a loop trail (obviously) will eventually cross the main Shenipsit Trail over by the abandoned rail bed (or Rail Trail) I wrote about in my last recap. For now, it winds this way and that…and up and down. Not too far from where the trail begins, I was able to keep my consecutive hikes encountering a deer going, which was cool.
Eventually, after about a mile of up and down, I came to the section of the trail where it connects with the main Shenipsit. But, in order to continue on the VFLT, I would have to walk several miles of the rail bed again. If you are looking to complete the CT400, and you haven’t already hiked the section which coincides with the Rail Trail, I would suggest you just follow that path. Since I already covered that section of the VFLT on my previous hike, I came up with a plan to avoid it this go around.
Before I left the house, I decided I would only walk the Valley Falls Loop Trail until I hit the Shenipsit and then double back to meet up with the Railroad Brook Trail. What I didn’t know before I left the house is that the short (50 yards or so) section of the VFLT which turns west to meet up with the Shenipsit main line is pretty much straight uphill. So, I basically spent a few minutes climbing up and down a hill instead of breezing along on the Rail Trail. I'll leave it up to you to decide if you really want to climb uphill only to climb back downhill. If you want to complete the CT400, you'll have to travel this short section of the VFLT one way or the other (up or down).
After my little uphill/downhill trek, I took a minute to rehydrate again. Then I walked the Railroad Brook Trail, which is a yellow blazed trail roughly a mile long. This trail follows the brook and, at times, it was muddy. I imagine in the rainy seasons it is probably very muddy. My favorite part of this trail is near the end, where there are several wood bridges and a wood staircase placed along the hillside. The stairs lead to a nice overlook of the pond (the same overlook I wrote about in my previous recap) and, eventually, back up to the Rail Trail.
At this point, I decided to turn back on to the Valley Falls Loop Trail so I made a right. This section of the VFLT also coincides with the Rail Trail, but this section covers area of the VFLT I never walked before. This time, the VFLT only follows the Rail Trail for a quarter of a mile, before making a left turn and heading up the hillside. The turn is easy to find and we made our way up the hill. At the top, however, the trail gets hard to follow. It basically drops you off in a sizeable field. My research told me this was a soccer field but I didn't see any goals or white lines. And I can't imagine anyone playing soccer up on top of this hill. I lost the trail here and had to double back across the field once I realized I missed a turn (you can see my error on the map below). My advice to you is, as you are coming to the top of the hill and see the field, turn left before taking any steps on to the field. Just keep an eye out for the blue and yellow blazes.
At this point, the trail becomes rockier and some of the descents can be challenging. If you want, you can continue on the VFLT the whole way and head back down to the Rail Trail. I was more interested in the White Trail that shoots off from the VFLT. It isn't a very long trail (about a half mile for the whole out and back experience), but it gives you an opportunity for some cool views overlooking the rail bed below (about 100 feet up). I would suggest you take the time to check out this trail. It made a nice ending for my hike. From there, we followed the White Trail back to where it turns off of the VFLT, followed the VFLT back down to the Rail Trail and made our way back to the car (following the main Shenipsit Trail).
Trails: Valley Falls Loop & Belding Path (Vernon, CT)
Distance: 7.2 miles
Approximate time to complete: 3.5 hours
Date Hiked: 11/17/2012
Date Published: 1/4/2013
In my previous recap, I wrote about Valley Falls Park and Belding Wildlife Management Area in Vernon. There are two additional trails in those areas (one trail in each area) that need to be completed in order to complete the CT 400. And, even though both trails are fairly short (Belding Path is really short at only a half of a mile), I enjoyed the area so much that I decided to make a day of it and hike some of the other trails too.
It was a Saturday morning and I decided to get up early and head off to the barber shop. The barber I go to is crazy busy and, even though I got there 35 minutes before they open, I was still the third person in line. I decided to bring Roscoe with me on this hike so he waited in the car. I wasn’t at the barber as long as I thought I would be so we were fortunate to hit the trail about an hour after sunrise.
From the Valley Falls Park lot, I decided to head north and cover the area of Belding Wildlife Management Area first. On my previous hike through the area, I was more concerned with how quickly I could finish. This time, I decided to take my time and read all of the information plaques throughout the area. I’m not sure how many there are...or how much time this added to my total hike...but none of the plaques are so in depth that it takes more than 30 seconds to read.
About a mile and a half in, the main Shenipsit Trail makes a hard left turn. In order to complete Belding Path, I made a right and followed the yellow blazed trail to the east (over the concrete bridge). Eventually, Belding Path turns south and leads you back to where you first entered the area. This is a nice little half mile trail. The information plaques, which I’ve previously noted, are scattered throughout the area. I took a lot of time to stop and read everything I could…even with Roscoe pushing ahead at every turn. I kept him leashed through this area because there are signs everywhere which make it clear that dogs should be leashed at all times. Usually I’ll see one or two signs which are easy to ignore and claim ignorance if anyone ever says anything. But, I didn’t want to take any chances…even if other folks let their dogs off leash (which they do).
Eventually, we made our way through the area just to the south of Belding Wildlife Management and back to Valley Falls Park. As we approached the parking lot/pavilion area, I could see where the sun had already dried portions of the previously frosted grass in the park. The portions of grass which were still shaded by the pavilion roof were still covered with frost and I thought it made a cool juxtaposition. I stopped here to enjoy the scene and rehydrate.
From the pavilion, I followed the Red Trail, also known as the Main Road Trail. The name is fitting since this is more of a road than it is a trail. After about a quarter of a mile, the Valley Falls Loop Trail (VFLT) starts on the left. All told, the VFLT is 3.7 miles. Here, at the humble beginning, it starts by heading uphill. The trail, which is a loop trail (obviously) will eventually cross the main Shenipsit Trail over by the abandoned rail bed (or Rail Trail) I wrote about in my last recap. For now, it winds this way and that…and up and down. Not too far from where the trail begins, I was able to keep my consecutive hikes encountering a deer going, which was cool.
Eventually, after about a mile of up and down, I came to the section of the trail where it connects with the main Shenipsit. But, in order to continue on the VFLT, I would have to walk several miles of the rail bed again. If you are looking to complete the CT400, and you haven’t already hiked the section which coincides with the Rail Trail, I would suggest you just follow that path. Since I already covered that section of the VFLT on my previous hike, I came up with a plan to avoid it this go around.
Before I left the house, I decided I would only walk the Valley Falls Loop Trail until I hit the Shenipsit and then double back to meet up with the Railroad Brook Trail. What I didn’t know before I left the house is that the short (50 yards or so) section of the VFLT which turns west to meet up with the Shenipsit main line is pretty much straight uphill. So, I basically spent a few minutes climbing up and down a hill instead of breezing along on the Rail Trail. I'll leave it up to you to decide if you really want to climb uphill only to climb back downhill. If you want to complete the CT400, you'll have to travel this short section of the VFLT one way or the other (up or down).
After my little uphill/downhill trek, I took a minute to rehydrate again. Then I walked the Railroad Brook Trail, which is a yellow blazed trail roughly a mile long. This trail follows the brook and, at times, it was muddy. I imagine in the rainy seasons it is probably very muddy. My favorite part of this trail is near the end, where there are several wood bridges and a wood staircase placed along the hillside. The stairs lead to a nice overlook of the pond (the same overlook I wrote about in my previous recap) and, eventually, back up to the Rail Trail.
At this point, I decided to turn back on to the Valley Falls Loop Trail so I made a right. This section of the VFLT also coincides with the Rail Trail, but this section covers area of the VFLT I never walked before. This time, the VFLT only follows the Rail Trail for a quarter of a mile, before making a left turn and heading up the hillside. The turn is easy to find and we made our way up the hill. At the top, however, the trail gets hard to follow. It basically drops you off in a sizeable field. My research told me this was a soccer field but I didn't see any goals or white lines. And I can't imagine anyone playing soccer up on top of this hill. I lost the trail here and had to double back across the field once I realized I missed a turn (you can see my error on the map below). My advice to you is, as you are coming to the top of the hill and see the field, turn left before taking any steps on to the field. Just keep an eye out for the blue and yellow blazes.
At this point, the trail becomes rockier and some of the descents can be challenging. If you want, you can continue on the VFLT the whole way and head back down to the Rail Trail. I was more interested in the White Trail that shoots off from the VFLT. It isn't a very long trail (about a half mile for the whole out and back experience), but it gives you an opportunity for some cool views overlooking the rail bed below (about 100 feet up). I would suggest you take the time to check out this trail. It made a nice ending for my hike. From there, we followed the White Trail back to where it turns off of the VFLT, followed the VFLT back down to the Rail Trail and made our way back to the car (following the main Shenipsit Trail).