Zoar Trail - Prydden Brook Trail

-
Last September I hiked the Zoar Trail in the Paugussett State Forest expecting to have lunch next to the huge waterfall where Prydden Brook empties into Lake Zoar.  Imagine my disappointment to find a bone dry brook and a lot of dry rocks were there was supposed to be a gushing waterfall.

Now with the melted snow and early spring rains, it was worth another trip into the forest to see what the brook and falls were like.  And voila, Prydden Falls:


I started the same route as my last trip – parking at the Great Quarter Road trailhead lot and hiking in along the lake.  To be accurate, Lake Zoar isn’t a lake, but a wide section of the Housatonic River upstream of the Stevenson Dam.  The town of Zoar was flooded in 1919 when the river was dammed for power generation, so they got the ‘lake’ named after them.  The Zoar Trail is a loop route along the river, crossing the Prydden Brook just above the falls, and then coming back around through the Paugussett State Forest finishing with a road walk along Great Quarter Road back to the parking area – about a 6 ½ mile hike. 

Back to the hike - I passed a few people along the trail, and in case it looks like I was alone in the forest, check out this group at the falls, the main attraction.  Backpacks came off; a few tripods out and up – a nature photographer’s dream. 




Instead of continuing on the Blue Trail passed the falls, I hiked west along the south bank of the brook.  The trail isn’t marked – no painted blazes - but it is cleared and easy to follow.  The brook was running fast, and there were small waterfalls all along the way.  In one steep section, the trail crew built a stone stairway to protect the trail from erosion – it would be a waterslide otherwise.





The brook crosses the blue trail again after about a half-mile, and I headed south again through the laurels and forest.  There were spots where the trail was under water.  I passed a couple of hikers bushwhacking to higher ground to avoid this swamped section – their sneakers would get a little soggy.

Watch that first step!  Blue Trail                                                 Swamped section of the Blue Trail - 
Crosses over Pryddon Brook                                                      Waders just might be required!


Along the way here, the Connecticut Walk Book indicates a scenic spot looking back toward the river.  In September, when the leaves were still on the trees, I couldn't see much of anything.  But now, you can peek through the trees for a view to the river below.


My shortcut along the brook cut a couple miles off the hike compared to covering the entire Zoar Trail.  But it was a good way to kill a couple of hours that afternoon, and I got that picnic by the falls!



Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 10, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    It was a great day for a picnic! Sounds like a great hike!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hiker TomJanuary 24, 2017 at 5:56 PM

    The trail along Prydden Brook is quite scenic. I recommend descending on the Blue-Yellow Trail and walking up the trail on the south side for the best views of the cascades.
    Map at http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/stateparks/maps/paugussettsouth.pdf

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good Things, Small Packages - Southford Falls State Park

-
Image
         Southford Falls State Park , Oxford , CT           State Park site                         Trail Map There are over a hundred state parks in little Connecticut , and beyond Sleeping Giant, I’ve only been to a few – those with miles of trails on their own or where one of the blue-blazed trails passes through.  At 120 acres, Southford Falls is one of the smaller parks. But I am a sucker for waterfalls, and when a photo group planned a shoot at Southford Falls , I had to check it out.  The falls are a beautiful photo spot, but don’t stop there.  The state park is a great place to spend some time and wander around.  The falls run on Eight Mile Brook as it flows from Lake Quassapaug to the Housatonic River .  If you're mapping it out, be careful to avoid wrong turns from the naming convention used out here - this waterway is not to be confused with Seven Mile Brook or Six Mile Brook that both flow into the Eight Mile, or with Five Mile Brook
Read more

Mattabesett Trail – Mount Higby.

-
Image
Route 66 to Country Club Road :  4 ½ miles                 Trail Map How do you turn a 4 mile hike with friends into an 11 mile solitary excursion?  Some would answer “by being stupid!”.  But that might be a little harsh, it seemed like a good idea at the time... This hike started at Route 66 in Middlefield, then north to Country Club Road in Middletown . The Mount Higby section of the Mattabesett runs along another of the string of trap rock cliffs of the Metacomet Ridge.  Like the Beseck Ridge section to the south, Mount Higby has a long line of scenic outlooks to the north, west and south. Starting from the parking lot, follow the blazed and rocky connector trail a short distance north to meet the blue trail.  Head west, parallel to Route 66, and pass junctions for two local trails.  And then it’s time to climb the mountain.  The trail heads up the hill, switchbacks in the steeper sections, and opens to a view south toward Black Pond and Beseck Ridge.  A little farther,
Read more

Chatfield Trail, Killingworth

-
Image
4.7 mile trail, with a ¾ mile alternate trail to make loop hikes possible. The Chatfield Trail runs between Route 80 and River Road in Killingworth, just south of Chatfield Hollow State Park .  The north section of the trail travels through Foster Pond State Park , an undeveloped section of the Cockaponset State Forest .  The southern section skirts state land and wanders through some privately owned property. I couldn't find good maps on line, so here's one more good reason to go out and buy the Connecticut Walk Books .  Chatfield Trail is in the East book. The north trailhead, with parking for about eight cars, is ¼ mile west of the state park on Route 80.  And old forest road starts you off from the parking area.  There’s also a new trailhead right across the street from the Chatfield Hollow entrance – it joins up with the main trail about a ¼ mile in.
Read more