If you want to check on the hikes that I completed so far as part of this challenge, go here.
Prologue: A hiking challenge is going on this year by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEEP) in the state of Connecticut where I live, “Sky’s The Limit”. We have to finish a hike in the chosen 20 Park and Forest locations before December 3rd this year Each location has some specific points of interest that the departments asks us to take pictures of and document them. Most of the Parks and Forests are located in an hours of driving distance, except a few. I decided to take this challenge and hopefully will be able to complete all of them. Here we go!
Next up is Black Rock State Park. This is # 5 on the list provided by DEEP. I am not following the order they have listed. I am just going to any hike I can whenever I can from that list. 🙂
Black Rock State Park in the town of Watertown, is a beautiful location tucked within scenic rolling hills of the Western Highlands. It offers swimming, hiking, and scenic views along with lots and lots of Indian legends and stories. It joins the Mattatuck State Forest in the south.
The actual trail didn’t begin until we crossed the camping grounds. An everyone we met had told us that the hike is very easy, even a 5 yr old can do. Well, for amateur hikers like us it was no way easier. And I regretted not taking my hiking stick along. Yes, a strenuous hike, but it was all worth it once we reached the top.
After we found the actual trail, we began it beside this iron bridge If you walk across the bridge you will get to Black Rock Pond where there is a small beach for picnic and swimming.
Very early into the hike we came across this wooden foot bridge that was over a little trickle of water coming from Black Rock Pond.
This seems an easy path behind me, but believe me, it was elevated and a bit hard with rocks high enough that at some places we had to sit and climb down or climb up.
And the view from the top of the Black Rock Mountain (I guess that’s what they call it). We saw some raptors flying overhead, not sure if they were falcons or vultures.
Some of the points of interests along the hike: I loved these cute little hiking markers, I believe they are newer ones for 2021.
We made it to the top via a Power Line Corridor, which actually was very intimidating. But the view was good from there even though was not the topmost point of Black Rock.
At the end of we sat down near the beach of Black Rock Pond, had some lunch enjoying the very many geese flying in to wade in the water and perhaps hunt for their breakfast.
Galavant Reflections 