It's Mountain Laurel Time

 The Mountain Laurel are really blooming in Shelton this year.

A combination of rain and early hot weather have produced a bumper crop of Mountain Laurel flowers a little earlier than normal.  The Mountain Laurel is a 15' high shrub and is the Connecticut State Flower.  It's said to like rocky woodlands, which we have a little of in Shelton.

The shrubs out in the open have the most spectacular flowers.

One of the best locations to enjoy the display is along the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path south of Rt. 108.  The RecPath passes thru sort of a tunnel of Mountain Laurel before emerging out into the open areas along the powerlines.  The utility companies trim the trees along the powerlines, but leave the shrubs, which makes for an interesting display.

Other trails to see the Mountain Laurel include Nells Loop Trail, Turkey Trot Trail, and the Paugussett Trail.  Don't wait too long though, it's a short window for this show.

Mountain Laurel along the RecPath

We had not one but two very successful hikes in Shelton for National Trails Day.  The first one lead by Lynn had about 18 people hiking along the Paugussett Trail from Buddington Road down to Indian Well State Park.  There was a little shuttling back and forth, but from the sound of it they had a great walk.

A second group of 8 hikers met at Pine Lake on Rt. 108 and had an easier walk along the RecPath.

The view along Pine Lake from the bridge was pretty.  The is the eastern end of the Shelton Lakes Greenway and a lot of people were out enjoying the open spaces.

We kept passing many people out walking their dogs, bike riding, strolling, running, fishing or just enjoying a pleasant day outdoors.
  

One of the hi-lights of the hike were the mountain laurels just starting to bloom along the powerlines.  They are still in bloom for those who want to enjoy them.  We finished our hike with lunch at the Huntington Street Cafe - this year there was live music being performed - a First for one of our hikes.  The Trails Committee would like to thank everybody who came out to both events. 

Bloomin' Mountain Laurel

The weather this weekend was a bit drippy but that didn't stop some folks from getting out.

This guy was having fun mountain biking some of the new sections of the RecPath behind Wesley Drive. The contractors are making good progress there & should complete most of that section this week if the weather cooperates a bit.

For those who like to ride on more rugged trails - try the Paugussett Blue Dot trail North of Rt. 108 - it may need mowing in some areas because we haven't been able to get to it, but it's got some challenging terrain.

A number of trail users were out enjoying the Path, including this 4-footed customer taking her human out for a walk between the rain drops.

The RecPath behind Wesley curls along the top of a ridge overlooking scenic, and newly named, Basil Brook. There were a couple of nice deer standing on the Path two days in a row. Its a very pretty area with the brook running, but bring some OFF.

This was one of the scenes from last weekend's hike. The trail twins have talked their adults into getting matching trikes. Now all they have to do is talk them into racing. One of the nice things about making the RecPath handicapped-accessible is that it opens up hundreds of acres of greenway and parkland for the enjoyment of families - no matter how young. Now all we have to do is get these kids on a trail work party one of these days.

The mountain laurel are in rare form this week. People should force themselves to get out on the trails and see the show this week. The best places to see the Laurel are Oak Valley Road at the Eklund Native Species Garden, the RecPath south of the Dog Park, and the Paugussett Trail north of Rt. 108 along the powerlines. Go tomorrow - don't miss it.