Hubbard Park, Meriden, CT: Hanging Hills, Metacomet Trail, Castle Craig

ABOUT THE PARK:
Hubbard Park - City of Meriden
Hubbard Park and Castle Craig - Connecticut Weekender
Hanging Hills - Wikipedia
The Black Dog of Hanging Hills - Connecticut Weekender
Metacomet Trail - Wikipedia

The Hanging Hills as seen from I-691: From left to right West Peak, East Peak, Castle Craig

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 41.562803, -72.809665

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Parking space for ONE car at the trailhead on the west side of Rt. 71.  Additional pullouts available farther south on the same side.  If you need to park there, road walk back to the trailhead.  Careful - Rt. 71 is VERY busy!

TRAIL MAPS:
Hubbard Park Trail Map - Meriden Land Trust  (shows most of the hike)
Metacomet Hiking Trail South - Connecticut Explorer Guide  (shows all of the hike)
Note that the map above refers to a reroute that is easy to miss -  no longer the case as this turn is now very well-blazed.
Connecticut Walk Book - CT Forest & Park Assn - 3-ring-binder book with removable maps for all of the Connecticut Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System

HIKE DISTANCE:  7 miles

PEAK BAGGING:
East Peak - Peakery.com
West Peak - Peakery.com

THE HIKE:

Head west uphill into the woods at the Metacomet Trail sign on Rt. 71

For most of this hike follow the blue blazes of the Metacomet Trail.

I would have to say this first section of the Metacomet trail is very well-maintained.  The blazes were fresh and the trail was well-marked.  We fully expected many blowdowns from the Snowtober storm the weekend before.  Most of this area had just regained power the previous day after not having electricity for an entire week.  The snow had just melted.  It took us 2 hours to maneuver through 1 1/2 miles of blowdowns.  Amazingly, at the end of this hike, the section from Merimere Reservoir to Rt. 71 (the beginning and end of this hike) had already been completely cleared of blowdowns so trail maintainers has been hard at work while we were out hiking.  THANK YOU!  Much appreciated! 

1/4 of a mile into the hike, the Elmere Reservoir on the left and a large water tank on the right.

In another half mile, cross the dam at Merimere Reservoir.

At the end of the dam watch for the trail to turn left into the woods - step over the cable guardrail, descend to the creek, rock hop over, then ascend, somewhat steeply at times.

At the 1.5 mile point breathtaking views in all directions with Mine Island in Merimere Reservoir directly below.

Continue on to Castle Craig, almost 2 miles into the hike.  Castle Craig can be climbed for views from the top.

From the top of Castle Craig, Sleeping Giant State Park to the right of the Long Island Sound.

Flag at Castle Craig

From the castle at East Peak the trail continues on to West Peak.  Take this warning seriously - there are VERY steep drops from the cliffs in this area and many have lost their lives here.

I believe this might be a Peregrine Falcon seen on the way to West Peak.

The trail will turn sharply left just before a paved road at about the 2.2 mile mark.  You have a choice - continue along the trail which will take you down steeply into a ravine then back up steeply along the flank of West Peak (the most strenuous part of the hike) or go to the paved road, turn left and keep following to the left until you reach West Peak where you can pick up the blue-blazed trail again. 

Trail descends steeply down into the ravine.

Trail ascends steeply up West Peak.  Although this is the area haunted by the Black Dog of Hanging Hills, this is not the ghost dog,  this is my friend's dog, Haley :)

A little garter snake along the trail.

The trail will come out on a dirt road and turn right.  Turn left instead and walk a short distance to views at West Peak.

Views from West Peak

Tired dogs taking a nap on West Peak with East Peak in the distance.

Leaving West Peak the blue-blazed Metacomet Trail follows the ridge with more views to the west.

As you retrace your steps from West Peak and meet back up with the blue-blazed trail, continue along with radio towers and buildings on your left.  The trail will turn left up a dirt road towards the towers and buildings, then turn right leading you away from that ugliness.  The trail is a little bit confusing here as the blazes are faded and some of the markings appear to be old metal can lids painted blue.  Those are the proper markers to follow and the blazes return to being easy to see and follow just after the towers and buildings.

Trail along the ridge.

At 5.1 miles turn right on Edgewood Road as the blue trail turns left.  The next mile is walking on paved roads to Merimere Reservoir along residential streets with very little traffic (only had 1 car pass us).

At the gates at Merimere Reservoir turn left to pick up the blue-blazed trail from the first part of the hike which will lead back to Rt. 71.

Trail descends back to parking on Rt. 71

HIKE SUMMARY:
[  0.00]  Head uphill into the woods at the Metacomet Trail sign on Rt. 71
[  0.20]  Pass between a blue water tower on the right and Elmere Reservoir on left
[  0.55]  Keep straight at a cairn when a trail goes right
[  0.60]  Keep straight when a trail comes in from the right
[  0.65]  A residence comes into view to the right through the woods
[  0.80]  Trail comes out on road, turn left then right at Merimere Reservoir and cross dam
[  0.90]  Turn left over rope guardrail into woods, rock hop over creek and ascend veering left
[  0.95]  At top of steep ascent, keep left on blue when blue with red dot goes right
[  1.00]  Rock hop over creek
[  1.10]  Trail runs along ledge above Merimere Reservoir before veering away to the right
[  1.50]  Scenic overlook of Mine Island in Merimere Reservoir and Sleeping Giant State Park to the south
[  1.75]  Side trail to left to view
[  1.90]  Keep straight on blue trail when white comes in from the left; turn left on paved road towards castle
 when leaving castle, with back towards castle turn left and walk along the edge of the parking lot towards the electrical box to find a boulder with a blue blaze
[  2.20]  Blue trail turns sharply left downhill just before paved road (turn left and follow paved road as alternate route to West Peak to avoid steep descent into ravine and climb back up)
[  2.40]  At bottom of ravine, turn right on blue/red when red comes in from the left briefly, then follow blue to the right as red continues straight; begin steep ascent
[  2.60]  Cross small boulder field then swampy area after which trail switchbacks up to the left
[  2.70]  When the blue trail goes right at the gravel road, turn left towards views at West Peak
[  2.75]  West Peak; retrace
[  2.80]  When blue comes in from right, keep straight on blue
[  2.90]  Turn left at left turn blazes on pole towards radio towers and buildings; blazes old and faded in this area; trail turns right and heads away from towers into woods
[  3.20]  Trail veers left downhill just before woods road (easy to miss turn and get on woods road if not paying attention)
[  4.15]  Cross power cut
[  4.35]  Rock hop over creek
[  4.40]  Trail turns left when unmarked comes in from right
[  4.50]  Trail becomes wider woods road
[  4.55]  Keep left at fork
[  4.65]  Rock hop over creek
[  4.75]  Trail turns right on woods road that comes in from the left
[  5.00]  Keep straight through large open space when another woods road comes in from the right
[  5.10]  At orange barrier when the blue-blazed trail goes left, turn right and walk along paved Edgewood Road
[  5.40]  Hallmere Reservoir on right
[  5.80]  At intersection turn right on paved Percival Park Road
[  6.05]  Continue beyond the "Road Closed" signs
[  6.10]  At brown gates just before Merimere Reservoir, turn left into woods to pick up blue trail
[  6.30]  At fork keep right
[  6.70]  Pass between blue water tank on left and Elmere Reservoir on right
[  7.00]  Arrive at parking on Rt. 71

Allaire State Park, NJ: North of Manasquan River with Allaire Village and Pine Creek Railroad

ABOUT THE PARK:
Allaire State Park - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Historic Allaire Village - Allairevillage.org
Pine Creek Railroad - The New Jersey Museum of Transportation
Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway - Traillink.com

DIRECTIONS:
Bikeway Parking on Route 524 (no parking fees)
GPS Coordinates 40.157553, -74.120566

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Very large parking lot on Route 524 for the multi-use Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway and the Freehold-Jamesburg Rail Trail.

TRAIL MAP:
Click here for a scanned copy of the map.  Click on "Download Original" button at the top right of the page to save the PDF file to your computer so you can rotate, enlarge and print.  Contact the NJ Department of Environmental Protection if you would like a paper copy mailed.

HIKE DISTANCE:  7.8 miles

THE HIKE:
Cross Route 524, turn left and walk along the side of the road for .15 mile until you reach a double fence.  Enter to the right of the fence and follow a woods road.  This is shown as an orange trail on the map but you will not see any blazes early on.

First orange trail marker .4 mile into the hike.

At 1.75 miles turn right on an unmarked path over to the abandoned railbed which begins to run parallel to the orange trail, turn right a short distance walking towards the end of the railbed and watch for an orange marker to the left, turn left into the woods to continue on the trail.

When you reach Route 524 turn right and walk along Route 524 to pass under I-195.  The orange trail actually turns right just before Route 524, passes under I-195 with a fence between the trail and the road (very overgrown in spots) then veers right back into the woods to meet up with the abandoned railbed on the other side of I-195.  For this hike turn right after the fence and walk along Route 524 for .2 mile then turn right on the green trail at the break in the fence.

Right on green trail from Route 524.

After the green trail crosses the paved park road, pass beyond a wooden gate and come to a pretty pond on the right. (The pond is not shown on the park map.)

Saw a large bird at the pond and tried to zoom in for a better picture.  I think it might be a Black-crowned Night-Heron.

The green trail reaches a fork where it goes either left or right.  It doesn't really matter which way you go as it loops back around to this intersection.  However, when I hiked it, the left side was closed due to storm damage so I turned right and was able to hike about 2/3 of it before I came to the closed tape at the other side and had to turn around.

The green trail is very pretty and quiet in this area.  No I-195 noise like before.

The green trail crosses over Rt. 524 then goes under I-195 as an old towpath next to a canal.

The red trail starts out as a sparsely marked sand road....

... then becomes a nature trail over a boardwalk.

Holly along the red trail.

When the red trail comes out on to the old towpath (green/red trail on map) veer left then right over the bridge to the nature center.

Map outside the Nature Center that shows some trails not on the park map.

If you turn around at the large map and stand very still, it won't take long for all kinds of birds to descend on the bird feeders.

Walk to the right for a nice view of the pond and the old towpath (green trail) on the other side.

Take a concrete path from behind the Nature Center to a bridge which leads to the park entrance road.

Turn right on the park road, then right on a path and at the sign at the picnic area, turn left towards historic Allaire Village.

Historic row house which houses the visitor's center and museum.

Make note of the church to the far left - this is where you want to end up after touring the village and hiking the yellow trail.

Turn right on the yellow trail as the village road veers left.  There is a round yellow circle on a round brown background marker but there aren't many more markers along the trail.

Beginning of the yellow trail with a marker.

The trail reaches the Manasquan River and follows along faintly. (This is a view looking back.)  Even though it will appear as through the trail veers left with blowdowns and flood debris, it does continue to follow along the river until you reach an intersection with a smaller side stream.

Scenic Manasquan River

Turn left leaving the river when a side stream comes in; head towards the blast furnace.

Sign towards the end of the yellow trail.

Blast Furnace

Tons of little Eastern Bluebirds hang out around the blast furnace.

Descend steps across the village road from the barn at the stage depot; follow dirt path uphill to a field then veer left towards the gazebo and the church.

Walk through or along the Pine Creek Railroad heading towards the paved Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway.

The the paved Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway follows between the Pine Creek Railroad and Route 524 back to the parking lot.

HIKE SUMMARY:
[  0.00]  Cross Route 524, turn left and walk on grassy area next to road
[  0.15]  Turn right on woods road to the right of double gates
[  0.40]  Begin to see orange trail markers on plastic posts as trail veers left
[  0.90]  Sand/gravel road crosses over small creek
[  0.95]  Cross over second small creek just after an unmarked trail comes in from the right
[  1.20]  After large drainage pipe on the left a water tower comes into view
[  1.40]  Stay on sand/gravel road when an unmarked trail crosses over; now parallel to I-195
[  1.45]  Stay on sand/gravel road when an unmarked trail crosses over
[  1.70]  Trail begins to veer to the left away from I-195
[  1.75]  Turn right on unmarked path a short distance then right on abandoned rail bed
[  1.80]  Turn left into woods at orange marker before the end of the rail bed, follow trail which is now pretty well marked
[  2.05]  At Route 524 turn right after fence and walk along the road under I-195; continue along road
[  2.25]  Turn right at green trail marker through break in fence
[  2.35]  Cross over paved park road and beyond wooden gate, continue straight with pond on right (pond not on park map)
[  2.65]  Turn right at intersection to follow the green trail loop
[  2.90]  Turn left on green trail as orange trail straight ahead connects to abandoned rail bed trail (connector portion not on park map)
[  3.15]  Stay on green trail is it veers left
[  3.55]  Keep straight on green at intersection back to the pond
[  3.85]  Go beyond wooden gate and cross paved park road
[  3.95]  Go through break in fence, turn left on Rt. 524 briefly, then cross to the right to continue on green trail
[  4.00]  Trail parallels canal as it goes under I-195
[  4.10]  Turn right at fork (unmarked but should be leaving green and turning on red)
[  4.25]  Follow sand road as it veers left when another sand road (not on map) goes right
[  4.40]  First red trail marker
[  4.50]  Trail forks, turn right on less defined grass road (should come back together if you take more well defined sand road to the right)
[  4.70]  Meet back up with well-defined sand road, turn right and head towards red trail; turn right at red marker on footpath with interpretive signs
[  4.80]  Trail turns left, goes beyond split rail fence and follows boardwalk
[  4.85]  Boardwalk ends, ascend steps at end of boardwalk; keep right at top of steps at Peat Bog sign
[  5.05]  Left on sand road at pond then right over bridge towards Nature Center
[  5.10]  At Nature Center go around to the right of the building and pick up concrete path behind building
[  5.20]  Cross bridge and come out at small parking lot; walk through parking lot, right on main park road towards park sign, then right on path at "no bicycles allowed" sign, then left on sand road at picnic tables
[  5.40]  Sand road becomes paved, keep straight when bridge to left leads to main parking lot
[  5.50]  Enter historic Allaire Village and keep right
[  5.60]  When village road veers left at Millpond on left and double sand roads on right, follow the village road to the left then immediately turn right in break in fence for the yellow trail
[  6.00]  Yellow trail turns to left away from the Manasquan River at side stream
[  6.10]  At dirt road, turn right briefly to blast furnace, then retrace keeping straight on dirt road which is still the yellow trail
[  6.15]  At end of yellow trail, turn right on village road and continue to explore village
[  6.60]  Across the village road from the barn, descend steps, follow boardwalk then path uphill to field; veer left towards gazebo and church
[  6.80]  Exit village and turn right on paved path before parking lot; at Pine Creek Railway turn left; at end turn left then right on to paved bike way just before stop sign
[  7.50]  Cross road at stop sign
[  7.60]  Follow paved bike path to the left as a grass road goes straight
[  7.80]  Parking lot on left