new england national scenic trail gateway

The New England Trail (NET), a nationally recognized scenic trail, now extends south to Chittenden Park in Guilford CT via the Menunkatuck Trail. The section reviewed here is the road walk from Chittenden Park to the trailhead where the NET enters the woods on Clapboard Hill Rd. With the exception of crossing Route 1 which can be busy at times, this segment of the trail takes you through some historic areas, past museums, and of course Chittenden Park overlooking Guilford Harbor. The section is mapped at http://newenglandtrail.org/get-on-the-trail/ct-net-section-05-menunkatuck-trail, and is listed as being 3.8 miles in length. Another view can be found at the Connecticut Woodlands website http://www.ctwoodlands.org/sites/default/files/Southern%20Trail%20Map_MN3_II.pdf. You can do an "out and back" hike in an afternoon, or tag-team with a fellow hiker by parking one car at the trailhead on Clapboard HIll Rd and then driving to Chittenden Park with the other car so that the walk can be completed in just one direction. For the more adventurous, you can continue the hike into the East River Preserve and on. Looking at the bigger picture, the trail intersects with the Mattabesett Trail at about the 11 mile mark, later continuing northward on the Metacomet Trail into Massachusetts, finally becoming the Monadnock Trail which has it's northern terminus at Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. Collectively these trails are referred to as the New England Trail. For this section, I believe Chittenden Park has a port-a-pot and there are a few restaurants along the way for food, drink, or bathroom breaks.