Another great walk in the woods with impressive rock formations and a mass of mountain laurel.

Rules: Foot travel only: no vehicles, bicycles or horses. Dogs must be leashed. Blue trails sometimes pass through private property, so stay on the trail. Practice Leave No Trace principles on your outing.

Walkability: Moderate with some strenuous climbs. Slippery fall leaves made a couple of spots tricky.

Total distance: 2.3 miles.

Elevation change: 352 feet (up + down). 

Environment: A bit of history: At the trailhead note the large rock ledges above and to the right. One of Ashford's one-room schools, The Ledge School, sat beneath those ledges until it burned down on Easter Sunday in 1942 . The students were transferred to the one-room-school house in West Ashford. In 1949 the state required the town to close all its one-room schools and build a central school. 

The trail immediately starts climbing from Perry Hill Road, and heads to the right of the ledges without getting all the way to the top. A bit farther, the trail continues up hill and scrambles between giant rocks that are jumbled on the hillside. (Great for kids to climb on.)  One descent farther along is on sheer bare rock, and has an alternate route down marked just to the left ("Wet Rock Route").

At about the 0.5-mile mark the mountain laurel begins to appear in masses. This display continues for nearly a mile, and will be spectacular to walk through in June when it's blooming. In a couple of sections the mountain laurel are very tall and form tunnels for hikers to pass through.

The trail continues through interesting wooded areas with a few stone walls and a goofy tree with an ear, crossing three streams on bridges. At the end of the walk, the ground is fairly level for several tenths of a mile before it comes to Westford Hill Road.

Directions:  The trail crosses Perry Hill Road immediately east of the intersection with Lipps Road. There is a signboard on the north side marking the spot. There is space for several cars to park on the south side of Perry Hill Road. (The CFPA map shows the parking on the wrong side of the road, but shows the trail route correctly.)

Link to Connecticut Forest and Parks Association interactive trail map: https://ctwoodlands.org/explore-trails/interactive-map/ On a computer, type in "Nipmuck" and select "Nipmuck Trail" and navigate to see this section. On a phone, zoom in to locate the leg.

Back to the Nipmuck Trail Overview page. Link to the previous leg of the Nipmuck Trail, 14B Nott Highway to Perry Hill Road.  Link to the next leg of the Nipmuck Trail, 14D Westford Hill Road to Iron Mine Lane.

November 2023

Photos: Trailhead on Perry Hill Road, with Lipps Road intersecting at left; 2-climbing between the big boulders; 3-stone wall and general surroundings; 4-bridge over a stream; 5-a mountain laurel tunnel; 6-The Ledge School (photo from Ashford, Connecticut 1714-1964 250th Anniversary Celebration Commemorative Book.