| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Southington Ridgeline, CT |
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 | Trails: |
Tunxis Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, November 18, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked at the trail head on Whitman Road just off Mount Vernon about a mile North of Mount Southington Ski Area that has room for about 4 or 5 cars. One other car when we started, two when we finished. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings were either bridged or easily crossed. Water level is down considerably from a couple of weeks ago when much of this section of trail resembled a small stream |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Erosion is significant |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
The dogs had good fun working some different terrain today with plenty of small and large game to keep their interest. They also met another canine friend. |
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 | Bugs: |
Warmer weather brought the ticks out although not as bad as expected with the thick mountain laurels. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Started at around 1:00pm and the weather had cleared to a beautiful blue bird, somewhat windy afternoon. Note that this section of trail ascends next to the Southington Sportsmen's Association and is well marked. Be sure to stay on trail as they have an active firing range. Leaves and trail erosion made for tricky footing on the majority of the hike. At about .5mi we neared the North Branch of Hamlin Brook which sounded to be running quite well, but we could not see much of it down in the valley due to the thick Mountain Laurels. In the spring the bloom here is spectacular. We continued to the trail junction just below the New Britain Reservoir where Roaring Brook cascades. This is a fairly impressive stream with some large and strong hydraulics. We took unmarked paths to the ridgeline on the north shoulder of the Roaring Brook which afforded fantastic views to the East, North East and South East. Although it had been many years, we were able to find the very small cave entrance which opens to a very large multi-room/level cave system in the area of the Great Uncomformity. However without ropes and lights, and not wanting to get filthy climbing down and into the system, we opted to double back up to the ridge line. We followed the unmarked trails North along the ridge which continued to provide excellent views including to Hartford. We came out near the earthen dam of the New Britain Reservoir, crossed to the jeep roads and followed them to White Rock. We looped the jeep trails back toward the reservoir and then doubled back on the Tunxis to the car. We only met two other parties, one with a friendly dog. Excellent and somewhat challenging hike for Central CT. |
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 | Name: |
Jo-Kah |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-11-19 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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