Mattatuck Trail
The Mattatuck Trail is a 42-mile-long blue blazed trail, part of the New England National Scenic Trail. It' goes through forests and state Parks, along rivers and lake (and reservoir), is beautiful but some segments re quite rugged. It also crosses one of CT’s highest peaks and will lead you to “Old Leatherman Cave”!
Trailrunning on the Mattatuck Trail.
Read about some of the segments here, as I (try to!) run them all! This is organized starting North going South.
White Memorial Conservation Center to Highway 63
The Mattatuck Trail goes through the White Memorial Conservation Center, and it’s a very pretty section, with several lakes (my favorite is Cranberry Pond!), crossing the Bantam River, and nice rolling hills.
Some sections are open and the sun can be harsh in the summer, but most of it is in the woods, which can get quite swampy in the summer after rains.
This section is not as technical and difficult as others, in terms of the surface you hike/run on and the elevation gain.
You can park by the Conservation Center, or by Bissell Road, and it’s about 2 miles to Highway 63.
To see the trail in a video of one of my runs through White Memorial, click here!
Beaver Pond.
Highway 63 to Beaver Pond
This is one of my favorite sections! There is a parking lot on Highway 63, and to go to Beaver Pond you have to cross the road and go east towards Beaver Pond.
Follow the blue blazes UP: the trail goes up for a while, never too steep but you have to go the distance. You go past smaller ponds and get nice views of other lakes before the trail starts going down a bit and you get closer to Beaver Pond.
For a nice vista, follow the small detour indicated from the trail, and then keep going downhill to get back on trail all the way to Beaver Pond.
This segment is almost 2.5 miles one-way to the pond, and then you can continue almost a mile to Slab Meadow Road.
To see a video of one of my runs on this segment, click here!
Mountain Laurel (poisonous!) and Pink Lady’s Slippers, seen on the Mattatuck Trail.
Slab Meadow Road to Pitch Road
This section is about two miles, and technical! Lots of ups and down, the trail is narrow, but you do go by a stream and a waterfall near the end, which is really pretty.
The parking lot of Slab Meadow Road is in a section of the road that is not paved, so be aware of that if you’re considering parking there.
Lots of fungi on this segment in the summer, and it’s the first time I saw a newt on the Mattatuck!
To see the trail in a video of my run there, click here!
route 6 to Reynolds Bridge
This is a beautiful segment, with some elevation and views (which makes it particularly perfect for exploring in the Fall, and it is the segment that goes through “Old Leatherman Cave”.
It also has more of those east coast big rock slabs, compared to all the other segment I’ve reviewed here, which makes it quite slippery when wet, so be aware of that. The trail also gets wider here than on the other segments above.
It has some sections with a steep incline, but overall it’s not too difficult or technical.
To see a video of my hike on this segment on a beautiful Fall day, click here!
“Old Leatherman Cave”
Have you done any of these segments, or other that you’d recommend?
Let me know in the comments below which one is your favorite!