Shelton 2020 Trails Day, in 2022, Finally

The Shelton Trails Committee celebrated 2020 Trails Day finally on June 4, 2022.  The series of trail improvements and re-routes along the Paugussett Trail at Indian Well State Park along with the Tahmore Trail on the Shelton Land Trust Preserve were completed in 2020, but all the public hikes were cancelled due to Covid and the resulting shutdowns.

There have been a lot of hiking on the trails during Covid, but not a lot of organized public hikes in groups, for obvious reasons.

 So today, under perfect sunny skies, in 2022, a public hike finally took place to enjoy all the improvements as part of the National Trails Day celebrations.

Two dozen happy hikers and 3 more-so happy dogs came together at Indian Well State Park to enjoy a great Saturday morning outside.

Teresa Gallagher gave a run down of the hike route, along with the trail improvements that were done before and during Covid.

We made it up the stairs and worked our way toward the trail junction.  The woodlands were amazing well lit due to the leaf wilt blight hitting the beech trees along the hillside.  It may be a forerunner of another massive die-off of an native tree due to invasive pests.

The view of the Housatonic River from the overlook was fine, if a little hazy.  You could see all the way to downtown Shelton.

Folks enjoyed the view of the river.

We then hiked up to the high point on Tahmore Trail the Shelton Land Trust property.  The views are better here in the Fall when the leaves are down.

The Mountain Laurel were starting to bloom in places.

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There were multiple groups depending on your hiking speed.  Some took the trip to the waterfalls, and others came back to the parking lot on the blue/red trail.

Everyone made it back successfully, and all had a good time.  Thanks to everyone one who helped out: Val, Ellen, Luis, Teresa, Bob, & Terry.  And thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate our 2020 hike, rebooted, so to speak.

 

Another Great Hike for Shelton Trails Day

We finally lucked out with the weather on one of our trail events this year! Saturday's Trails Day Hike was great & we had 40-45 people out to enjoy a fine walk on the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.

Dick Skudlarek did a great job with the photography. The mountain laurel were in excellent shape along the powerlines. There are also a number of fine photographs taken by Beren Jones on the Shelton Patch. He hiked the whole route & from the sounds of it Bill & Tom gave him a running history of the Shelton Lakes Greenway in three part harmony. Nice job of reporting Beren.

Mayor Lauretti started out the festivities by reading off his annual Shelton Trails Day proclamation (in between running the Family 5K race at the High School & heading downtown for the Relay for Life).

We started off at Pine Lake, crossed Meadow St. and then up toward the schools (this was part of the route for the race about an hour earlier).

It was a nice turn out and we passed a lot of other families enjoying the RecPath, baseball games, or the Dog Park along the RecPath.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the newly constructed sections of the RecPath overlooking Hope Lake. We then headed out to Oak Valley Road & off to Eklund.


We got a nice tour of the Eklund Native Species Garden - a number of things were in bloom. (We can always use more help for Eklund if anybody is interested in native plants and gardening - call Teresa Gallagher at (203) 924-1555 x 315.

Following Eklund we proceeded along the Bridge-to-Bridge route though shady mature woodlands.

The mountain laurel along the powerlines are really pretty this year. Must be all the snow & rain we had earlier is good for something after all.

Eventually we came out near Huntington Woods where one of the new RecPath sections is under construction.

And by under construction, we mean REALLY under construction. Some hikes will cut a little brush or mow some grass in preparation for Trails Day, buy how many towns go out and chop ledge out the way.

This was one of the most challenging spots on the RecPath to create handicapped-accessible grades. Nothing a big hammer cant fix. The contractors from Fairview Tree Farm & Pruzinsky & Sons are doing a great job on this project.

We then proceeded down the RecPath on some of the more completed sections to the beautiful Land Trust Meadow. Following the boardwalk & a little more open meadow we came to Scenic Lane St. and on to Huntington Center for shuttles and refreshments.

The nice folks at The Higgins Group once again had ice cold water for the hikers; 2 legged and 4 legged. It was much appreciated as we were arranging shuttles back to the starting point.

Time for a little lunch and refreshment at Trails End at the Huntington Street Cafe. One of the nice things about this hike is there are a number of places to grab lunch, an ice cream, or a cold beverage following the hike.

Thanks to everybody at the Chamber of Commerce, Shelton Patch, Valley Sentinel & Huntington Herald who helped publicize our hike. We hope everybody who came out enjoyed the day. Thanks to the Mayor and all the volunteers and everyone else who worked on the trails to make this another fine success.

Ahh Choo! Trails in Bloom

The woods are in full bloom the Spring - at least that's what the pollen count says.

The wild pink azaleas were out in full force by the J Pond during our work party Saturday. A crack crew from the Trails Committee were out clearing brush along the Bridge to Bridge route in anticipation of National Trails Day.

There were a number of wildflowers out along the trails. The Eklund Native Species Garden on Oak Valley Road had a number of plants in bloom.

We also had our Mutt March Guided Hike on Sunday. A lot of people were put off by the impending rain, but the weather held out & it made for a very moody stroll. Here's the view of Silent Waters from the bridge on top of the dam.

It was a great walk for dogs. Slightly cool and foggy. The puppies had a good time.

The dogwoods were blooming. I don't know if the trees will still be blooming for Trails Day, but they look good right now, so enjoy the views along the trails while you can this Spring.

Shelton Trails Day 2010

The Shelton Trails Committee & Shelton Conservation Commission hosted 3 guided hikes as part of the 2010 Connecticut Trails Day celebrations. About 4o people took part despite the forecast of thunderstorms and muggy weather. Lynn Reid led the hike on the new Paugussett Trail section, Teresa led the Nature Loop at Hope Lake, and the rest of the Trail Com. led the Bridge to Bridge hike starting at the Community Center.

Victoria & Michelle Lown of Higgins Group Real Estate supported us by providing ice cold water. It was much appreciated. We then walked down the sidewalk, crossed Huntington St. at Lane St. and walked down Lane St. to RecPath entrance by the new sign kiosk.

Rich Skudlarek not only was our official Trails Day Photographer, but he also GPSed our route & created aerial overlays. Here's the beginning from Huntington Center, up Lane Street, and through Huntington Woods.

We had a few puppies along for the walk.

Here's Terry Gallagher at Lizard Head Rock explaining how the subdivision road was supposed to go through the cliff, but this piece was preserved as open space in the final approvals. He's also sporting the sylish CFPA "Hike Leader" shirt that was part of Trails Day. Connecticut Forest & Parks Association is one of the oldest environmental groups in the state & they sponsored over 160 events this year.

And here's where we left civilization behind at Crabapple Lane & headed off to Eklund.

The mountain laurels along the powerlines were spectacular. Here's Sheri, Bill, Aleta, and a younger hiker enjoying the views. It was a little hot, but this is definitively something people should visit again this week when it's cooler.

We passed a number of people out enjoying the open spaces. Here's one official-looking mountain biker over by Four Corners.

This is the third leg of the hike from the Eklund Native Species Garden on Oak Valley Road up to the White House on Rt. 108. We followed the blue blazes along the back side of Hope Lake.

And here we are at the Eklund Native Species Garden. The beds are starting to fill in this year.

We stopped at Hope Lake for a short break (and to catch a refreshing breeze). Jim Taradine was enjoying the view across the Lake.

A family was enjoying fishing at Blueberry Point on the south end of the lake.

And we met up with the Hope Lake Nature Hikers on the back side of the Lake. The trails had traffic today, but usually it's an easy quite walk to enjoy fishing or a view of the water.

We came onto the other improved end of the RecPath at Rt. 108 by the White House (city open space). The mountain of road millings in the background was from construction earlier this week. We have been trying to get some for construction of the Recreation Path base, and they were supposed to arrive "sometime in June". Well be careful what you wish for because this mountain got plunked on our RecPath 3 days before Trails Day, but we were able to walk around it.

This is the improved section from Rt. 108 to Pine Lake. Here the RecPath is about 8 feet wide and is surfaced with crushed stone or paved for handicapped accessibility.

This guy & his dad were just finishing kayaking at the Silent Waters Canoe Launch when we passed.

Here's the end of the hike at the Pine Lake trailhead on Rt. 108.

Here's Teresa Gallagher & Lynn Reid; two of our other hike leaders, at the Pine Lake parking lot helping shuttle people back to their cars at the start. Jim is pointing out some of the critters from the vernal pool that Teresa was showing people on the Hope Lake Hike.

And of course there was the post-hike get together at the Huntington St. Cafe after all the shuttling was done. All the hikes were interesting and a lot of fun - enjoy your trails.

Happy Trails - getting ready for Connecticut Trails Day

National Trails Day is next Saturday June 5th & there are a record-setting FOUR events in Shelton to enjoy. We've been racing around cutting, mowing, painting blazes & getting our trails in shape for Connecticut Trails Day. Join us on one of these fun events.

1. Nature Hike on Oak Valley Trail: 10:00-12:00 for an easy 2.2 mile nature hike lead by Conservation Agent Teresa Gallagher including a trip to the Eklund Native Species Garden – meet at the trailhead at Hope Lake on Nells Rock Road. For those who were there, this is the parking lot where Bertucci's catered that wonderful hike earlier this month (sorry, not catering this time). Take a hike and learn about the native plants and wildlife to be found along the trails. The mountain laurel should be in full bloom. It's more fun to go for a walk if you know what you're looking at. For information contact teresa@borntoexplore.org or (203) 926-9572.

2. Hike on the NEW Paugussett Trail Extension from Indian Well State Park to Shelton Lakes: 9:25 – 1:25 for a fun but challenging hike led by Lynn Reid of the AMC. Meet at the Maples parking lot before Indian Well State Park (Tip: spot a second car at the powerlines on Rt. 108 to shuttle back). Only 17 years in the making, volunteers have been working all winter and spring to restore the link between the White Hills and Shelton Lakes. Registration Recommended – contact lreid@sbcglobal.net.

Here's the Paugussett Trail along the edge of one of the meadows on the Wiacek property. The trail needs a haircut, but it is a great example of how Shelton's open space and farmland preservation program work together to preserve the quality of life in our community. One of Shelton's farmers is in the process of haying the fields right now.

3. Hike or Mountain Bike the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path; 10:00 – 1:00. Meet at the Shelton Community Center in Huntington Center and we’ll explore the new construction off scenic Lane Street on our 4.5 mile hike. (Tip; spot a second car at Pine Lake on Rt. 108 for the ride back, but we will have a shuttle running also). The beginning & end of the hike are on the handicapped-accessible gravel portions of the RecPath, but the middle portion is a non-accessible dirt trail that is suitable for mountain biking and hiking. The Lane St. entrance was just constructed this Fall thanks to the generosity of local contractor Barry Mucci, and we'd like to encourage people to enjoy one of the prettiest open spaces in town along the Land Trust Meadow. Victoria Lown of the Higgins Group Real Estate office has kindly volunteered to provide water again. Contact Terrance Gallagher at tg@borntoexplore.org or (203) 926-9572 for information.

Leashed dogs & kids (OK - the kids don't have to be leashed) are welcome on all the hikes. A rain date of June 6^th is scheduled for all the hikes if there is heavy rain. For more information visit www.sheltonconservation.org or the Shelton Trails Blog at http://www.sheltontrailscom.blogspot.com/.

June 5^th is a Greenway Day in Shelton. There are a number of other events scheduled including

• a hike at Jones Family Farm in the White Hills,
  
• the 5 K Family Fun Run at the High School,
  
• the Derby Sculls Rowing Regatta on the Housatonic River at Indian Well State Park, and
  
• the Relay for Life at the Riverwalk downtown.
  

Get outside and enjoy your greenways and open spaces this weekend. Visit the Connecticut Forest and Parks website at www.ctwoodlands.org for a listing of over 160 events around the state.

This year's theme for Trails Day is Find Your Happy Place, but we decided to just go with Happy Trails. See you Saturday.