Connecticut trails · New England National Scenic Trail

New England National Scenic Trail

A 122.9-mile section of the New England National Scenic Trail in Connecticut, with 827 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 235 miles. Reaches Mount Pisgah and other lake/summit destinations.

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Length

122.9 mi

Elevation gain

827 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

33%

Steepest mile

+421 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

27.7 mi

Shape

loop

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 16,580 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 Pisgah (summit)
Chauncey Peak (summit)
Bear Hill (summit)
Beseck Mountain (summit)
Lamentation Mountain (summit)
Three Notches (summit)
Higby Mountain (summit)
Pistapaug Mountain (summit)
Camels Hump (summit)
Totoket Mountain (summit)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Sections reported faint or hard to follow — carry a map or download this area offline.

Getting there

Unnamed trail access. 41.54234, -72.59658 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:46 a.m., the sun rises at 6:15 a.m. and sets at 7:25 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:54 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 122.9-mile route works out to roughly 45 h 56 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

Loop options

mattabesett trail + Unnamed trail + New England National Scenic Trail — 1.5 mi loop, 443 ft gain
New England National Scenic Trail + Unnamed trail + mattabesett trail — 5.5 mi loop, 1,497 ft gain
Unnamed trail + mattabesett trail + New England National Scenic Trail — 4.2 mi loop, 1,133 ft gain