Peoples State Forest Trails

Peoples State Forest Trails
Three erratic boulders on the Jesse Gerard Trail in Peoples State Forest.
Length	11.22 miles (18.06 km) [1]
Location	Barkhamsted, Connecticut, USA
Designation	CFPA Blue-Blazed Trail
Use	hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fishing, geocaching, other
Hazards	hunters, deer ticks, poison ivy

The Peoples State Forest Trails is a system of blue-blazed hiking trails in the Pleasant Valley section of Barkhamsted, Connecticut, United States. The trails, which collectively total 11.22 miles (18.06 km) in length, are entirely within Peoples State Forest.^[1]

The Peoples State Forest Trails consist of seven official "Blue-Blazed" hiking trails:

• Elliot Bronson Trail (2.02 miles, Blue & Red Blazed)
• Walt Landgraf Trail (0.5 miles, Red Blazed)
• Jessie Gerard Trail (1.8 miles, Blue & Yellow Blazed)
• Falls Cut-off Trail (0.2 miles, Blue & Red Blazed)
• Charles Pack Trail (1.9 miles, Blue & Yellow Blazed)
• Robert Ross Trail (2.2 miles, True Blue Blazed)
• Agnes Bowen Trail (2.6 miles, Blue & Orange Blazed)

^[1]

The Peoples State Forest Trails are primarily used for hiking, backpacking, picnicking, and in the winter, snowshoeing.

Portions of the trails 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 Peoples State Forest Trails pass through land completely located within Barkhamsted in the Paradise Valley area near the Riverton area.

The Blue-Blazed Peoples State Forest Trails were created by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.

The two trails are 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

The trails are regularly maintained, and are considered easy hiking, with very few sections of rugged and moderately difficult hiking.

Much of the trail is close to public roads. There are no camping facilities in Peoples State Forest. There are camping facilities in the neighboring American Legion State Forest but camping is controlled and must be arranged.

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.

The trail is adjacent to, or is on lands where hunting and the use of firearms are permitted. Wearing bright orange clothing during the hunting season (Fall through December) is recommended.

When there is sufficient snow in the winter, the Whittmore Grove Cross Country Ski Area in Peoples State Forest provides a 0.75 mile "loop" cross country ski trail as well as a quarter mile "spur" cross country ski trail (which is a dirt forest road when there is no snow). ^[3]

• Blue-Blazed Trails
• Barkhamsted

Books – Connecticut hiking

• Colson, Ann T. (2005). Connecticut Walk Book East (19 ed.). Rockfall, Connecticut: Connecticut Forest and Park Association. pp. 1–261. ISBN 0961905255.
• Colson, Ann T. (2006). Connecticut Walk Book West (19 ed.). Rockfall, Connecticut: Connecticut Forest and Park Association. pp. 1–353. ISBN 0961905263.
• Emblidge, David (1998). Hikes in southern New England: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont (1 ed.). Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. pp. 1–304. ISBN 0-8117-2669-X.
• Keyarts, Eugene (2002). Pietrzyk, Cindi Dale (ed.). Short Nature Walks: Connecticut Guide Book (7 ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Falcon Publishing. pp. 1–192. ISBN 0-7627-2310-6.
• Laubach, Rene; Smith, Charles W. G. (2007). AMC's Best Day Hikes in Connecticut (1 ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Appalachian Mountain Club Books. pp. 1–320. ISBN 1-934028-10-X.
• Ostertag, Rhonda; Ostertag, George (2002). Hiking Southern New England (2 ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Falcon Publishing. pp. 1–336. ISBN 0-7627-2246-0.

Books – Connecticut history and geography

• De Forest, John (1853). History of the Indians of Connecticut from the earliest known period to 1850. Hartford, Connecticut: Wm. Jas. Hamersley. pp. 1–509.
• Hayward, John (1857). New England Gazetteer: Containing Descriptions of the States, Counties, Cities and Towns of New England (2 ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Otis Clapp. pp. 1–704.
• Trumbull, Benjamin (1797). A Complete History of Connecticut - Civil and Ecclesiastical. Vol. I (1818 printing ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Maltby, Goldsmith & Co. and Samuel Wadsworth. pp. 1–1166.
• Trumbull, Benjamin (1797). A Complete History of Connecticut - Civil and Ecclesiastical. Vol. II (1818 printing ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Maltby, Goldsmith & Co. and Samuel Wadsworth. pp. 1–1166.

Specific to this trail:

• CT Museum Quest Article on the Peoples State Forest Trails
• History of Peoples State Forest

Government links:

• State of Connecticut American Legion and Peoples State Forest website
• State of Connecticut American Legion and Peoples State Forest Letterbox website
• State of Connecticut American Legion and Peoples State Forest Hiking Map
• State of Connecticut American Legion State Forest Camping Map
• State of Connecticut American Legion State Forest Cross Country Skiing Map