For those of you who know him, you know that Craig does not speak effusively, or with melodrama, or hyperbole (that’s me, every time). So, it’s not surprising that his new mantra in these retirement times is a bit understated….
We started our Northeast journey in Connecticut - we were meeting friends in the Hartford area (see wine tasting post), but arrived a day early to adjust to the time zone and enjoy a little hiking. First, a travel tip - if you get a rental car and want to go to the CT state parks, get one with a CT plate. The fees at some of the parks are less/zero if you are driving a car registered in the state (WHAT?).
Our first hiking adventure involved a visit to Kent Falls State Park. To see the falls, naturally. This was a short but VERY steep hike with stairs on the way up and a dirt trail with lots of tree roots on the way down. Really got the heart thumping. Very pretty.
The trail markings for the hike were some of the best I’ve ever seen - every time I was worried we’d strayed from the path down, I looked up and magically there was a marking on a tree. Maybe it’s a New England thing - we experienced the same in New Hampshire. Very impressive.
Our plan was to spend the next couple of weeks in Maine, but since we are retired people with no particular plan or timeframe, we decided that it would be fun to stop somewhere halfway between the Hartford area and Bar Harbor, Maine. Enter….. Lake Winnipesaukee (I needed a “local” to tell me how to pronounce it - waaaaay too many syllables). The lake is very pretty and has a lot of cute towns/beautiful hiking/cute beaches and we were delighted to spend a handful of days there. I will remind you:
Full disclosure - I picked the hotel we stayed at because of the above Adirondack chairs, the view, and the opportunity to hang there.
On to the hiking report, because hiking gave us the best views OTHER than just sitting and staring at the lake(s):
Old Bridal Path Trail: One of the nearby lakes, Squam Lake, has a bunch of fun trails around it. Some lead up Rattlesnake Mountain, where there are stunning views of the lake at the top. We took the “easier” West trail, which was not long, but was a fairly steep climb up. We were rewarded with everything we could have hoped for:
Castle in the Clouds - Is a 6,300 acre property featuring a 16-room Arts and Crafts mansion (the “castle” that sits atop a tall mountain), stable and six-car garage, two gatehouses, a greenhouse, a golf course and tennis court, a man-made lake, a boathouse on Lake Winnipesaukee, and miles of carriage and bridle trails. I had read about the views from the castle and the great hiking trails, all of which had varying difficulty and great views.
Sadly, the castle was closed the day we stopped by, but the trails were still open to the public. We chose the Brook Trail, because it has 7 (!) waterfalls as the brook makes its way downhill. The first couple were not exciting (but very pretty), but they got successively higher and more impressive as we hiked down a very steep, root strewn path, which even included climbing down some small granite “boulders” - a new hiking achievement for me.
I loved the schtick of the 7 waterfalls, with 7 explanations, so here they all are for you:
After we found our way down the initial path, we had a choice - go back up the way we came, or go up a parallel connecting path (the Shannon Brook Trail) that was very steep initially and then evened out to an “easier” path the rest of the way back to where we parked. We opted to go the “different” route - which was the right call, but really tough for the first bit. Here’s the trail map:
And now, off to Maine!
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