Connecticut trails · Pachaug Trail
Pachaug Trail
A 8.2-mile out-and-back in Connecticut, with 296 ft of climbing. Reaches Great Meadow Brook Pond and other lake destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 55% of the ascent falls between mile 5.5 and mile 8.2. It gives back about 213 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Great Meadow Brook Pond (lake)
- Wiclcabouet Marsh (lake)
- Porter Pond (lake)
- Dawley Pond (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Unnamed trail access. About 33 min drive (23 mi) from Norwich. 41.64743, -71.83905 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:30 a.m., the sun rises at 6:58 a.m. and sets at 6:08 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:36 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 16.4-mile round trip takes roughly 6 h 23 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:21 p.m. — 4 h 47 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Pachaug Trail + Pachaug/tippecansett Connector + Unnamed trail — 1.6 mi loop, 127 ft gain
- Unnamed trail + Pachaug Forest Trail + Pachaug Trail — 5.1 mi loop, 565 ft gain
- Unnamed trail + Pachaug Forest Trail + Pachaug Trail — 7.5 mi loop, 820 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Old Furnace Trail — 8.6 mi
- Hop River Trail — 21.9 mi
- Vista Trail — 28.3 mi