Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Larkin State Bridle Trail
Town: Naugatuck, Middlebury, Oxford, Southbury
Trail Conditions: Varied
Observations/Information: The Larkin Bridle Trail offers up a bit of everything in its surface. Some sections are hard packed cinders. Other parts have sand pits due to erosion, and the damage from horse hooves. One section that is privately owned is perpetually under 2 inches of water. A section near Rt. 67 is a rock garden, due to heavy erosion. Some of the road approaches are steep and technical. None of the original bridges or tunnels are in place, so there are numerous road crossings, most fairly quiet. On this trip, I noticed three significant washouts that were not present last year. I reported them to the state with the hope the DEP can repair them. There were numerous equestrians on the trail, as one might expect, plus assorted dog walkers and joggers, bikers, and unfortunately, two people on dirt bikes. There are many side trails off the bridle trail, but I have never explored them. The trail section between Long Meadow Road and Towantic Road is privately owned. The story that I got from an equestrian is that the property owner does not want to see the property to the state and the state does not want to get involved with eminent domain, but the property owner does not mind people riding across the trail
The state has two small faded signs at these roads, telling people to use the road to by-pass this section of trail. Unless you looked for the signs, you would never see them, and the state shows a continuous trail on the map. Signs at trail crossings say, "No vehicles," but should be amended to read "No motorized vehicles," since the state website makes it clear that bicycles are allowed. Map and other info at www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A'16&QC4808.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
PS----
Can you update my recent entry with this info from Nate Hale, the park supervisor for the Larkin:Begin forwarded message:> We are aware of several washouts from the March rain event, we are in the process of fixing the biggest at Southford and hope to have sufficient ,materials from that job to repair these as well within the next week or so.
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 at sbcglobal dot net
How did you use the trail? Mt Biking
Trails Ridden: Larkin Bridle Trail
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 3
Approximate Distance (Miles): 21
Images/Photos: Larkin B. Trail sign.jpg
2nd image: Larkin B. Trail, horses, 6-11.jpg
3rd Image: Larkin B. Trail, washout, 6-11.jpg
4th Image:
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