Kiosks Need Maintenance

"Before" - Paugussett kiosk
on Buddington Road

We have lots of trail kiosks that were built for Eagle Scout projects. We love the kiosks! But they do require maintenance over the years, just like the bridges and bog walks. Kiosks set the entryway tone to a trail, so we don't want them looking neglected. And yet a few are getting that way, like the one on Buddington Road for the Paugussett Trail. This particular kiosk had some graffiti at one point, and whatever was used to remove the graffiti clouded up the glass. And the routered sign at the top had weathered so much you could hardly tell it said anything. This one has been on the 'to-do' list for a few years, and it finally got done. 

Scrubbing and sanding the trail sign

The kiosk was originally constructed in 2014 by Mark Sullivan from Troop 25. The routered sign was removed and a lot of time was spent sanding and scrubbing the wood in preparation for painting. Meanwhile, the polycarbonate sheet was measured and turned out to be a size and thickness not carried by the big box stores like Home Depot. Was that something we could get from Shelton's very own Modern Plastics? Yes! And the owner Bing Carbone even donated the sheet cut to the exact size as the original. Thank you! 

Much sharper! 

The new glass and refurbished sign really made a big difference to this kiosk. The roof might still need some shingles, but it's so much better! 

We're at a point now where many kiosks and bridges are over ten years old and it seems like there are a lot of structures all needing help at the same time. Meanwhile, the Trails Committee is trying to catch up with all the seasonal overgrowth. If there is anyone out there with some basic carpentry skills willing to help out, let us know! We've also wondered whether any Scouting groups would be willing to help out. 

BMX Track at Boehm Pond Removed

Hats off to a couple different people for alerting us to some unsightly earthwork associated with a rogue BMX bike trail & jumps going on along Boehm Pond Trail just off of Far Mill Street. The early warning allowed us to catch it before things got worse. Thank you! It's so important for people to let us know when something is going on, whether it's a new tree that's fallen across the trail, some graffiti, or rogue trails. 

In this particular case, a friend of the trail confiscated a stack of tools stored at the site and left a note giving the offenders one week to repair the damage or the Police would be called. The trail builders left a reply saying they couldn't repair the damage without their tools and they didn't know building trails wasn't allowed. Another trail friend then witnessed a vehicle with possibly a father and son come in and work on the trail, and got the license plate, which was reported to the PD. This was surprising to learn that at least one adult was involved, although I guess it shouldn't have been. I had assumed it was all the work of dumb kids who don't know any better. But we had that happen at French's Hill a few years ago. A neighbor said she saw parents drop off their kids repeatedly to create and ride on a set of ramps along the trail, right past signs saying "no bikes." A stone wall was ripped apart and big wooden ramp constructed (I needed to use a chainsaw to break it down). Boggles the mind that parents would do that.

3-foot deep hole and a new trail

I didn't know any of that was going on at Boehm Pond when I receive an alert about the trail damage from a different hiker and went to check it out and post some official notices. I found two large holes dug nearly 3 feet deep, multiple ramps, lots of earthwork, litter, boards and logs screwed together, and carved trees. Fortunately, the rogue trail wasn't very long yet. 

Lots of earthwork for the rogue bike trail & jumps

bike ramp

Really? Check the nearby sign...

Nearby sign:
"Prohibited: digging holes or building bike ramps"

"MTB" (mountain bike) marking the rogue trail

And of course a tree top had to fall over the trail right next to the rogue trail. So I returned the next morning, cut the dangling tree top as much as I safely could, repaired all the earth work, filled in the holes, and cleaned up a bunch of litter (all kinds of candy wrappers and such). The wood ramp had already been removed by someone else. It took all of one very hot and muggy morning to clean up the mess, but it's done. The confiscated tools were shown to the Police and will probably be donated. 

Litter hauled away 

As a side note, there is an open space that kids can and do ride with their BMX bikes. It's the Huntington Wellfield property on Huntington Street across from Maple Lane. There are some old sand pits in there that are enjoyed by some of the kids  - no need to build anything. 

The eyesore at Boehm Pond Preserve is gone now, problem solved. And many thanks again to the folks who let us know about this issue before it got any worse. Remember that the trail volunteers don't live out on the trails. Never assume that we are aware about an issue you come across. There are many ways to report a problem. You can post something on the Trails Committee's Facebook Group, contact anyone you might know who is a member of the Trails Committee, or contact myself at conservation@cityofshelton.org (or by phone by calling City Hall 203-924-1555 x1315). Thank you and Happy Trails!

A Brief History of Shelton's Trails

Here's a super brief history of our hiking trails in Shelton, starting with the oldest trails (trails that no longer exist are not included):

1. The Bluff Walk at Riverview Park (early 1900s): The park was donated to the City in the late 1800s by the Shelton Canal Company, and by 1919 there was a carriage path on the south side of the park that is now part of the Bluff Walk. A 1934 aerial clearly shows the existing route of the entire trail. 
   

   

   1934 aerial of Riverview park shows the park road and trails
   (click photo to enlarge)

   
   
2. The Paugussett Trail (1930s): Created by the Connecticut Forest & Park Association (CFPA). The 1937 CFPA Walk Book describes the trail from Roosevelt Forest in Stratford through Indian Well and ending at what is now Birchbank with an access trail leading down the hill towards the Irving Boy Scout Camp (this access trail was the proto Birchbank Trail). A 1940 map shows the trail completed north to Lake Zoar. The Paugussett south of Indian Well was abandoned in the 1980s after Aspetuck Village and other new developments blocked the trail. The City of Shelton re-established the trail south to Buddington Road (formally recognized by CFPA 2013). There have been many substantial relocations of the trail over the years. 
   
   

   

   1946 map showing CFPA trails
   (blue highlight shows location of current trails)

   
   
   
   
3. Birchbank Trail (1930s) began as a blue/yellow CFPA access trail across water company lands to the Paugussett Trail (0.7 mi.), but after many years was abandoned by CFPA in the 1990s due to chronic ATV damage.  After purchasing the property, the City of Shelton re-established the trail as an expanded white-blazed lollipop-loop (2008), following old roads and neighborhood trails. A number of relocations due to erosion have occurred. 
   
   
4. Tahmore Trail (c.1987) was created by the Shelton Land Trust and/or CFPA, and was shown in the 1993 CFPA Walk Book as a blue/yellow side loop of the Paugussett Trail. A major reroute occurred in 2020. 
   
   
5. Oak Valley Trail (1994/1995): This was the first of the modern City of Shelton trails, created under the auspices of the Conservation Commission across what was then known as "Stewart Woods" at Hope Lake. It was originally blazed white, but was changed to red in 2019. 
   
   
6. Nells Rock Trail (1996): The east half of the loop was formally blazed and mapped on the old Abbey Wright property that was originally acquired to be used as a landfill. The loop was extended some time after 2006 when additional property was acquired.
   
   
   
   

   

   Trail Map from 1996

   
   
7. Dominick Trail (1997): This orange-blazed trail first connected J. Dominick Drive (off of Buddington Road) to Nells Rock Trail, then was extended to the back side of Hope Lake and finally to Shelton Ave at the powerlines. Most of the trail was eventually converted to the blue-blazed Paugussett Trail. The south end became a white square access trail, Nells Rock Trail, and a short blue/white connector, while the north end near the Dog Park was reblazed blue/white. 
   
   1997: The Shelton Trails Committee was formed, and the Shelton Lakes Open Space purchase referendum was passed, in 1997. The City would take title to 471 acres for $7 million, including three reservoirs at Shelton Lakes, and the Birchbank property. 
   
   
8. Shelton Lakes Recreaton Path (1998 to 2012): Years of planning and the acquisition of Shelton Lakes allowed clearing to begin in 1998. The path was completed in sections over the years as funding and land acquisitions allowed. The paved section was the first completed (2001) due to funding secured by Dick Belden. The Pine Lake bridge was installed in 2002 and the Lane Street boardwalk was constructed by volunteers in 2006. 
   
   
9. Gristmill Trail (2000): This trail off of Mill Street crosses one of the properties purchased from the water company in 1998. 
   
   
10. Turkey Trot Trail (2001): This loop was created as a 5K track for the school Cross-Country team. It crosses the Shelton Lake property purchased by the water company. 
    
    
11. Boehm Pond Trails (2008): This trail system is located off of Far Mill Street and Winthrop Woods Road. 
    
    
12. Nichols Trail (2010): Originally known as the "Perimeter Trail" at Nicholdale Farm, this trail was created by Scout Joe Delgado for the Shelton Land Trust. The Trails Committee helps maintain the trail because it provides access to the City's Pearmain Path. 
    
    
13. Dog Paw Path (c. 2012): Blazed with little dog prints, this trail leads from the Dog Park (behind the big barn) to the Rec Path
    
    
14. Flower Path (2012): This connector at Shelton Lakes leads from the Rec Path to Eklund Garden.
    
    
15. SIS Connector (2014): This yellow-blazed connector runs along Shelton Ave next to the Intermediate school. 
    
    
16. Little Pond Trail (2014): This short trail off of Beech Tree Hill Road was created by Luke Claire for his Eagle Scout project. 
    
    
17. The Pearmain Path (2014/2020): The first version of this trail was completed in 2014 to comply with an old DEEP grant requirement. A return loop through the private Jones property & Land Trust "Little Knoll" property was completed in 2020. 
    
    
18. Basil Brook Bypass (2015): This trail at Huntington Woods (Shelton Lakes) allowed for loop options off the Rec Path and for mountain bikes to "bypass" the Rec Path. 
    
    
19. Stockmal & Willis Trails (2018): Previous trails on these lands had been created by Boy Scouts via the Land Trust, but became overgrown and abandoned, so new trails were created. Stockmal Trail was required under an old DEEP grant. 
    
    
20. Indian Well Beech Cut-Off Trail (2020): This blue/red trail provides quicker and easier access to the Falls from the Beech, and can be used to make a loop. 
    
    
21. French's Hill (2022): This loop trail system is off of East Village Road and is required under a DEEP grant.
    
    
22. Burritt's Bypass (2022): This blue/green trail at Birchbank offers a safer way to descend a rocky slope ("Burritt's Rocks") while northbound on the Paugussett. 
    
    
23. Woodsend Trail (2023): This one-mile trail was created thru Housatonic Woods Preserve after an open space purchase allowed for public parking. The new trail passes over a rock face above Rt 110 and Indian Well, and allows for a lollipop loop when combined with the Paugussett Trail.
    
    
24. Curtiss Brook Connector (2025): This trail, which is still under construction, will allow pedestrians to get off a narrow section of Rt 108 when trying to access the Rec Path at Pine Lake.  

Curtiss Brook Work Party

 

Digging in the south end

We had 34 people at the Sunday work party to start clearing the new Curtiss Brook Connector (that's the working name of the trail, not sure what it will be called officially), many of them high school students. We now have a 'rough draft' of a trail. It still needs more work, but it can be followed. 

Much of the work was picking up decades of litter, including about 25 bags of litter, a pool ladder, car parts, wire, old garbage cans, and other assorted materials (these were hauled away the next day by the Highways & Bridges Department). 

Some of the crew before they got dirty

The other big task for the day was digging the trail into the side of the hill. The north and south end each needed lots of digging, while the center section was in mostly good shape. The south end (near Pine Lake) was harder digging and steeper, but had less garbage. 

Mark Vollaro, Ray Hansen, and Teresa Gallagher had done some preliminary work before the work party, including chainsawing and raking out the tread. Terry Gallagher put together a big list of all the equipment that would be needed and staked out a section of parking lot ahead of time. This allowed the volunteers to get right to work. 

Digging in the south end, looking towards
Pine Lake

The center section didn't need much work

The north end

The north end (towards downtown Shelton) was at the base of a stone retaining wall holding up the state highway, and it was impossible to dig without hitting layers of old cans, bottle, asphalt, wire, etc. Aiden Zitnay managed to finally pull out a big coil of wire that was buried in the trail, and then found an old horse shoe. This section looks like it might be part of the old Shelton Turnpike from the 1800s, so that was pretty cool. 

Aiden managed to pull a 
big coil of wire out of the ground

The other issue with the north end was all the landscaping debris the homeowners across the street have been dumping over the wall. 

The north end starts at the base of the Rt 108 
retaining wall. 

The crew pulled out about 25 bags of litter, car parts,
a pool ladder, garbage cans, and other stuff

The last of the crew

There is still more litter in there, especially down in the brook and up the opposite side, if anyone is looking for a challenge. And there is more digging to do. But it's getting there! 

Curtiss Brook Connector to be Constructed

A narrow part of Shelton Ave, with the Pine Lake parking
area up ahead. A new trail will provide an alternative to the roadwalk.

One of our long-term goals for the Rec Path was to promote better linkage between the trail and surrounding community, especially with downtown Shelton and by extension the River Walk and Derby Greenway. When the Rec Path first opened, we were happy to see SHS students using it to walk home from school. But sad to see that when the students reached the end of the trail at Pine Lake, they had to walk along the edge of Shelton Avenue, a state highway. 

[Help needed for our Curtiss Brook Connector work party scheduled for Sunday 4/13 at 1:00 pm. More details on our Work Parties page]

There is one stretch of the highway that is especially narrow due to a guardrail and old retaining wall that drops down along the Curtiss Brook ravine. The highway is so narrow that traffic sometimes has to come to a stop if there are pedestrians.  Several years ago, the City had DOT representatives take a look at that stretch of highway to assess pedestrian safety.  The DOT suggested a cantilevered walkway (although it's a state highway, the City is apparently responsible for sidewalks). This doesn't seem very likely to happen.

The same area at the bottom of the old retaining wall

The Trails Committee did notice, however, that the ravine below the retaining wall is more scenic than expected, and that a trail could be constructed through it, providing a safer and more scenic access to the Rec Path from the downtown area. The path wouldn't go all the way down to the water, but would descend about half way down the slope and then follow the grade. 

(click image to enlarge)

For now, we plan on creating a "pilot trail." (See our Work Parties page if you're willing to help out). That  would eliminate about 750 feet of walking along the state highway, leaving about 650 feet of highway that still has no sidewalk of any kind (the sidewalks further along the highway are less than ideal, but at least there is something). If there is a public need, this type of access trail could qualify for future upgrades under a DEEP Recreational Trails Grant. Here are some winter views of the trail route: 

Curtiss Brook

The work will mostly involve digging the trail into the side of the hill and cleaning up years of litter and dumping. There are tires and all sorts of trash, especially up near the road.  Note that cleaning up litter in here would be a great group project since there is good parking and endless litter (see the DontTrashShelton.org website for info on our annual Shelton Clean Sweep). 

Looking upstream towards the Pine Lake dam

Southbound along the new trail (heading towards Pine Lake), there comes a point where the ravine ahead is too steep for a trail, so the path rises to the top of the hill. There's a nice view of the Pine Lake dam from that part of the trail, with water spilling over it. 

Heading back up out of the ravine (looking towards Pine Lake)

And here are some satellite images showing handicapped-accessible, multi-use trails in red (the Rec Path, Derby Greenway, and Shelton River Walk), along with the sidewalk system that almost links them. This trail project will cut the gap in half. 

Multiuse paths in red, sidewalk connections in white

 

Birdseye view from Derby showing multiuse paths in red
and sidewalks in white

Spring Cleaning; Fixing Split Rail Fences

The First Day of Spring was Friday, March 21st.  The next day was our first fence repair work party of 2025.

There was a number of damaged fence sections along the RecPath at Silent Waters.  Some sections were broken from the Fall/Winter storms, some posts and rails were just old and failing.  We had gotten replacement rails and posts last December, but then the frost set in, which made it difficult to replace posts.  Now the frost was out of the ground and now we could fix the fencing.  Ellen & Mark are off-loading the new fence sections.

First the old fence posts and rails that were broken were removed.  Bill and Steve are digging out the broken post stump with digging bars, post hole diggers, and by hand.  It takes a bit of effort, but they got it out.  

Mark was shuttling tools and fencing all morning.  We had split up into multiple groups to repair different sections of fence at the same time.  The RecPath was very busy this morning, but the public was good and pleased with the work to maintain the fence.  It probably was like driving thru a ConnDOT work zone.  All the work was done in a nice safe manner.

The Spring Peepers were going at it in Silent Waters.  The frogs and other amphibians came out last weekend.

Carter, Zane and Larry cleared out sections on the other end of the dam (the RecPath is build on top of the historic dam that used to supply water to downtown Shelton).  The fencing is there to keep people from falling off the dam.  

Mark had to cut some tree trunks that were in the way.  Jeff and Larry are spotting Mark while he's chainsawing.  We had just finished fixing some of this fence last year when the Micro-Burst Storm occurred in August and sent fallen trees smashing down on the trails and fence.  The trails were cleared fairly quickly, but some of the repairs took longer.  The broken tree trunk made a gratifying crash when we rolled it off the top of the dam using crow bars.  

 Zane & Carter did a good job digging out the old rotten fence posts and setting the new posts.

Jeff & Larry would set the new rails in place between the existing and new posts.  We left the new posts loose in the holes until we got the rails set, and then tightened them up with fill.  We gently tweaked the fence posts and rails together using Fine Adjustment Tools (15 lb. and 6 lb. sledgehammers).  We do dainty work.  Gravel and crushed stone was dug out of a nearby ditch and carried by 5 gal. pail to finish filling in the holes.  The posts were tightened when the fill was tamped in place with digging bars, sledgehammers, and a driveway tamper.  

Ellen was cutting back invasive Burning Bush along the RecPath.  The invasive plant spreads out and takes over the woods along the trail.  Cutting it back now helps control it later.  Shelton could use a lot of help from volunteers controlling invasive species.  The Trails Committee tries to do what we can when we're running work parties.

The work party was successful.  We repaired all the damaged fence along the northern section of the dam (the southern section at the bridge will be on another day).  Here's Bill, Jeff, Larry and Steve at the end when the sun finally started to come out.
 

A finished stretch of repaired fencing.  Not a bad job.

The old rotten and broken pieces of fence were brought out to the road for disposal by the City.

Thanks to everyone who came out today; Carter, Zane, Steve, Larry, Jeff, Ellen, Mark, Terry & Bill.  We now have several newly experienced split rail fence installers ready for the southern section, and a lot less invasive plants next to the RecPath.  It was a good days work.

Kiosk & Clean-Up at Hope Lake

Early March - Should be sunny, warm, and dry.  Our scheduled work party was to finish repairing the Hope Lake Kiosk and clean up portions of Oak Valley Trail and surrounding areas.

We had a good crew of volunteers on what turned out to be a chilly and blustery March 7th Saturday.  We did get some sun.  There was a lot of storm damage around the parking lot from the various ice storms and high winds.

Nancy and some of the other folks got busy clearing debris away from the parking lot.  Mark and Luis when back and got more supplies while we were setting up for kiosk restoration.  They also brought the hammers that I had forgot to pack for nailing the shingles on the kiosk roof.

Luis pitched in, along with the others.  Mark went back and got one of the chainsaws to whittle up some of the large tops and branches so they could be moved.

Erik helped with the clean up.  Bill went back to get a shovel to clear out wet spots and seeps along Oak Valley Trail.  Then Bill, Mark & Erik worked to reset an uneven bog walk along the lake and move stepping stones.

The re-set bog walk.  Mike had to go to the Barn to get some rock bars to un-stick the bog walk from the frozen ground so it could be leveled.  It was a good thing that this work party was so close to our Barn.

Helpful Trail Tip:  We should work on our pre-work party checklist of tools to bring.  Also get the stuff we'll need together during the week so loading up Saturday morning is less chaotic. 

Terry & Larry got started on finishing the re-roofing of the kiosk with cedar shingles.  We were continuing the repairs started in December.  At times the wind was gusting so hard across the lake the kiosk was rocking, but it was warmer then the work party in December.  We got the rest of the shingles on.  Some of the roof trim and doors will be put up a little later when we have a taller ladder and some warmer weather.

The other folks split up into multiple crews cutting brush and clearing debris along Oak Valley Trail, the Eklund Garden Connector, the Paugussett Trail over to J Pond and 4 Corners, the Flower Path, portions of the RecPath, and the Paugussett Trail on the back side of Hope Lake.  There was a lot of storm debris on the trails, and the early spring cutting really helps a lot with trail maintenance later in the year when everything starts growing at once.

Some of the storm debris cleaned up around the Hope Lake parking lot on Nells Rock Road.  It was a productive and brisk work party.  Thanks to everyone who helped out; Bodie, Danny, Erik, Nancy, Luis, Mike, Bill, Larry, John, Mark, & Terry.   

Also, thanks to everyone who helped take everything back to the Barn.  And thanks to Ray, Larry, Mark and Luis for getting the metal file cabinet up the stairs.