Connecticut trails · Short Beach

Short Beach

A 5.0-mile out-and-back in Connecticut, with 114 ft of climbing. Reaches Front Beach and other arch/beach/summit destinations. Managed by Local Government.

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Length

5.0 mi

Elevation gain

114 ft

Difficulty

Easy

Max grade

24%

Steepest mile

+114 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

0.2 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Bikes

Horses

Managed by

Local Government

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the final third: 53% of the ascent falls between mile 3.3 and mile 5.0. It gives back about 162 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Front Beach (beach)
Beacon Hill (summit)
Baldwin Rock (arch)
Short Beach (beach)

Getting there

Short Beach access. 41.27309, -72.85953 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:48 a.m., the sun rises at 6:16 a.m. and sets at 7:26 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 10.0-mile round trip takes roughly 3 h 49 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 10:05 a.m. — 9 h 21 min before sunset.