| Salmon River Trail | |
|---|---|
| Comstock Covered Bridge at parking lot entrance. | |
| Length | 6.9 miles (11.1 km) [1] |
| Location | Colchester / East Hampton, Connecticut, USA |
| Designation | CFPA Blue-Blazed Trail |
| Use | hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fishing, geocaching, other |
| Hazards | hunters, deer ticks, poison ivy |
The Salmon River Trail is a 6.9-mile (11.1 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail in Colchester, and East Hampton, Connecticut and is almost entirely in the Salmon River State Forest and Day Pond State Park. Almost all of the trail is in Colchester, the parking lot and part of the Comstock Covered Bridge over the Salmon River are in East Hampton.
Contents |
The Salmon River Trail is primarily used for hiking, backpacking, picnicking, and in the winter, snowshoeing.
Portions of the trail are suitable for, and are used for, cross-country skiing and geocaching. Site-specific activities enjoyed along the route include bird watching, hunting (very limited), fishing, horseback riding, bouldering and rock climbing (limited).
The official Blue-Blazed Salmon River Trail passes through land located within the following municipalities, from south to north: Colchester and East Hampton, Connecticut.
The Blue-Blazed Salmon River Trail was created by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.
The mainline trail is blazed with blue rectangles. Trail descriptions are available from a number of commercial and non-commercial sources, and a complete guidebook is published by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association
Weather along the route is typical of Connecticut. Conditions on exposed ridge tops and summits may be harsher during cold or stormy weather.[2] Lightning is a hazard on exposed summits and ledges during thunderstorms. Snow is common in the winter and may necessitate the use of snowshoes. Ice can form on exposed ledges and summits, making hiking dangerous without special equipment.
Biting insects can be bothersome during warm weather. Parasitic deer ticks (which are known to carry Lyme disease) are a potential hazard.
Wearing bright orange clothing during the hunting season (Fall through December) is recommended.
This trail system is a part of the 'Connecticut 400', one of the official Blue-Blazed (or similar) trails listed in the Connecticut Walk Book by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) and recognized, since 1976, with an award known as the Connecticut 400 Club by the Connecticut Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). In 1976 there were only four hundred miles of Blue-Blazed trail but today (2010) the total length of the trails listed in the CFPA Connecticut Walk Books (East and West) exceeds 825 miles.[3][4][5]
The State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) Forestry Division provides two awards for locating and visiting "letterboxes" (similar to geocaches) in Connecticut's State Forests. The commemorative 'State Forest Centennial Patch' is available to those who complete five sponsored "letterbox" hikes (in each separate state forest you must hike the described route, find the "letterbox/cache" and record your visit in the "letterbox" book). The State Forest Centennial campaign dates to 2003 (the centennial of the first official state forest in Connecticut). A walking stick is available for those who complete the letterbox hike of all thirty-two (32) of the state forests. Many of the "Blue-Blazed" hiking trails in Connecticut travel through or near one or more of the State Forests, often very close to the sponsored (DEP) letterbox.[6]
Specific to this trail:
Government links:
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