Shelton's 2020 "Out and About Challenge"

Shelton Canal and Locks

Maintain your social distancing while getting out of the house by joining our "Out and About Challenge".  Here's how:

1. Choose one of three levels. Physical difficulty increases with each level. The first level focuses on very easy, scenic locations. The third level focuses on trails that are rockier, steeper, or more difficult to access.

Owl avatar

2. Choose an avatar to represent yourself in your photos. This can be anything you can carry. A plastic dinosaur, a Monopoly game piece, or a roll of toilet paper, whatever you want. You can give your avatar a name if you like.

3. Visit all ten sites within that level. At each site, take a photo of your avatar in such a way that the location is recognizable. Optional: Share your adventures on a Facebook Group set up for the challenge https://www.facebook.com/groups/240875143860941/

4. When you have all ten photos for a level, email them with name (or trailname) and address to conservation@cityofshelton.org.

5. We'll send you a custom card recognizing your achievement and enter your name in a year-end drawing. On Thanksgiving weekend, we'll have an invitation-only hike for people who have completed at least one level of the challenge, and will have a drawing for hiking sticks during the hike. We'll also post your name (or trailname) on our website and may use some of your photos. 

This challenge was created to address a surge of trail users during the Corona virus pandemic.  One of our goals is to encourage people to spread out and visit some of our lesser known areas. People doing Levels 2 and 3 should wear insect repellent effective against ticks. Permethrin-based sprays on clothing are most effective and last up to one month. 


Challenge Locations
Additional information about these sites will be posted soon. We wanted to get the basics up as soon as possible so people could get started. If you use the Google Maps app on a smart phone (see the paragraph below), you should be able to see your current location and track your progress. Happy Trails!

Click for Custom Google Map Level one icons are green cameras, Level Two are orange cameras, and Level Three are red cameras.  Nearby parking areas for hiking trails are in light gray.  If you need help getting this map to load in the Google Maps app so that you can track your location, see a recent blog post pertaining to our generic Shelton Trail on Google Apps.

Level I: Sightseeing Turtle (Easy access to scenic locations, with detailed descriptions of how to get there)
For details, click HERE.

1. Riverview Park: Derby-Shelton Dam overlook
2. Shelton Canal & Locks
3. Indian Well: The Falls
4. Veteran’s Park: War Memorial Monuments
5. Rec Path: Silent Waters Overlook
6. Rec Path: Hope Lake bench at Paugussett Junction
7. Eklund Garden
8. Southbank Park: Pavilion overlooking Housatonic River
9. Gristmill Trail: Mill dam near trailhead
10. Bushinsky Arboretum: Bench overlooking Pond

Level 2: Traveling Horse (Exploring here and there. Requires more map reading skills and more walking, but nothing physically challenging)
For details click HERE.

1. Boehm Pond: Junction Yellow & White Trails
2. Paugussett Trail: Maybeck Stone Wall
3. Nicholdale Farm: Youth Camp Fire Pit
4. Birchbank Trail: Chimney near Paugussett junction
5. Nells Rock Trail: Four Corners sign 
6. Oak Valley Trail: Numbered post at old SE access trail from Rt 108
7. Gator Glide: Nells Rock Trail, smooth ledge face under trail
8. Basil Brook Falls near Wesley Drive/Rec Path
9. Far Mill Falls - Land Trust trail off Commerce Drive
10. Little Pond Trail (formerly Pine Tree Pond), off Beech Tree Hill Road

Level 3: Wandering Goat (Our most challenging trails).
For details click HERE. 

1. Willis Trail: Ledges on red trail
2. Stockmal Trail: Trail end marker
3. Birchbank Overlook
4. Indian Well Overlook
5. Top of Tahmore 
6. Burritts Rocks - Border Brook: Border of Indian Well/Birchbank
7. Burritts Rocks - The Cave Boulders, Birchbank Mtn
8. Paugussett north of Princess Wenonah Drive: Poet Path slates
9. Paugussett at the Overlooks: The ruins (between Sinsabaugh and Rt 110)
10. Paugussett: Nells Rock Trail overlook rock formation

Congratulations!
The following people have completed the Out & About Challenge:

Level 1 Sightseeing Turtle: Goncalves Family, John Girard, Ann & Robert Singletary, Lisa Adriani, Sara Skrable, Diego Murcia, Janice Schiappa, Scott Savary, Jen Costa, Gary Plude, Terry Gallagher, Steven & Sharon Canada, Teresa Gallagher, K and B Daniels, Sheri Dutkanicz, Matthew Zrallack, Elizabeth Maxwell

Level 2 Traveling Horse: Lisa Adriani, John Girard, Terry Gallagher, Sara Skrable, Diego Murcia, Janice Schiappa, Scott Savary, Jen Costa, Gary Plude, Steven & Sharon Canada, Teresa Gallagher, Rebecca & Mark & Abram Cauchon, Betsy Miller

Level 3 Wandering Goat: Lisa Adriani, Joe Hollis, John Girard, Teresa Gallagher, Gary Plude, Sara Skrable, Diego Murcia, Janice Schiappa, Scott Savary, Jen Costa, Terry Gallagher, Steven & Sharon Canada

All three levels: John Girard, Lisa Adriani, Sara Skrable, Diego Murcia, Janice Schiappa, Scott Savary, Jen Costa, Gary Plude, Terry Gallagher, Steven & Sharon Canada, Teresa Gallagher, Jean DaRin