Connecticut trails · Housatonic Forest Trail
Housatonic Forest Trail
A 6.6-mile loop in Connecticut, with 438 ft of climbing. Reaches Mount Easter and other summit destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,109 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Mount Easter (summit)
- Sharon Mountain (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
Housatonic Forest Trail access. About 1 h 07 min drive (41 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Waterbury. 41.90232, -73.39756 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:36 a.m., the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 6:14 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:42 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 6.6-mile route takes roughly 2 h 39 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:43 a.m. — 8 h 31 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Housatonic Forest Trail — 0.9 mi loop, 274 ft gain
- Housatonic Forest Trail + Unnamed trail — 3.0 mi loop, 529 ft gain
- Unnamed trail + Housatonic Forest Trail — 4.2 mi loop, 720 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail — 6.0 mi
- Mohawk Trail — 6.8 mi
- Number 4 Trail — 6.8 mi
- Mohawk Forest Trail — 8.9 mi