Conditions right now? (mid-Feb)

[I Are Baboon]

Anyone have some feedback on trail conditions right now in northern Connecticut? Case Mountain, Soapstone, the Reservoir, etc? I hear Nepaug isn't in real good shape right now.

[Dino Sore]

I heard that, as of last weekend, the Res was in good shape if you had studs. (I can't personally confirm).

I rode locally (Simsbury) last Sunday and encountered either thick ice or hard packed snow (that was starting to melt and made for slow going). These were heavily traveled paths and roads - I tried a few "real" trails, but the snow was still too deep.

With the rain today, and colder air moving in, I'm guessing things might be okay this weekend if you head out early in the morning. If things thaw, I suspect many trails will be pretty muddy and should be avoided.

[I Are Baboon]

Hey, I live in Simsbury. Just bought a house here last August. There are trails in town? All I know of is the rail trail.

Cockaponset might be a good place to ride. Can't say I have ever encountered a lot of mud there. It seems to really drain well. Of course, there is always the issue of accidentally pissing off the land manager there. ::)

[Dino Sore]

Hey, I live in Simsbury. Just bought a house here last August. There are trails in town? All I know of is the rail trail.



In the winter, I string together a loop consisting of Stratton Brook, Town Forest, Ethel Walker, Onion Mountain and random farmland/open space in between. Not thrilling stuff, but good for a frozen winter ride or night ride (of course, staying out of the state parks at night).

There is, of course, Penwood which is about a 15 minute bike ride from most parts of town, and from there you can continue on to other trails and also hook up with the WH Res.

If you want to explore some of the local landscape, go to the town website and look for links to local trail maps. There are quite a few in town, but admittedly many of them are better suited for hiking.
http://www.simsbury-ct.gov/about/trail_guide.htm

[Paula]

If you are willing to travel a little, conditions at Huntington in Redding are fine. I did ride with studded tires, but the ice was minimal compared to last week. Some of the single track is real hard to follow though.. lots of leaves and blowdowns. But I did have a very nice ride today, and hardly anyone was in the park.

[rufustopheles]

I rode Cas.e Mtn for a couple of hours this morning. It was mostly frozen dirt with some snow/ice on sheltered sections (North side) but it is all rideable. Yellow/Red, Yellow, Red, Gray, Blue trails all good.

Froze my water bottle shut, Wahoo!