Connecticut trails · Quinnipiac Trail
Quinnipiac Trail
A 5.0-mile out-and-back in Connecticut, with 653 ft of climbing. Reaches Axle Shop Pond. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,209 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Axle Shop Pond (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Quinnipiac Trail access — parking nearby. About 23 min drive (15 mi) from Waterbury. 41.42139, -72.90474 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:34 a.m., the sun rises at 7:02 a.m. and sets at 6:12 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:40 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 10.0-mile round trip takes roughly 4 h 22 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:24 a.m. — 6 h 48 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Unnamed trail + Quinnipiac Trail + Quinnipiac Park Trail — 0.8 mi loop, 40 ft gain
- Quinnipiac Trail + Sleeping Giant Park Trail — 5.0 mi loop, 276 ft gain
- Sanford Alternate Trail + Quinnipiac Trail — 3.4 mi loop, 851 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Sleeping Giant Park Trail — 0.4 mi
- Farmington Canal Trail — 3.1 mi
- West Rock Park Trail — 6.6 mi
- Naugatuck Forest Trail — 9.4 mi