Valley Falls Park

With trail map in hand and printed step-by-step directions for the Valley Loop Trail, we started out great: Pass pond on the left and waterfall on right, check. Cross 2 bridges over spillways, check. Climb stairs, check. Turn right up to rail bed, check. Turn right onto rail bed, OOPS!

I had decided ahead of time to take a left rather than a right and hike the white-blazed Lookout Trail. And we did fine. So far it had been a nice hike. We found the overlook, which provided a beautiful view, in spite of the graffiti.

Don't turn around yet! There's another view ahead.

Can you imagine this in the fall?

The Lookout Trail is not a loop, so we began to backtrack. My plan was to turn left at the fork and catch the Valley Loop Trail without going all the way back to the rail bed. What I didn't know is that there are some unmarked trails. We took the first left, but there were no blazes, so we returned to the white trail and tried again.

With several unmarked side trails that confused us, we ended up returning to the rail bed in order to get back to the Valley Loop trail.  The rail bed is a bike trail, and some very nice bikers tried to help. The trail map indicated a soccer field. People were sending us to soccer fields at nearby schools. No one we chatted with thought that there was a soccer field in the woods. But we actually did reach the field. It does exist! It even has a port-a-pot!

I was curious as to how the players reach this field. Do they have to hike? I found out that it is listed as a practice field for lacrosse. Players park at the end of Boulder Crest Lane and then take a path through the woods.

Anyway, back to the hike. I'm glad we pressed on, because we came to a lush field of ferns.

After drinking in these glorious surroundings, we made our way back to the trailhead. We were almost there when we took another wrong turn! We really should have turned around. You know, hindsight . . .  Instead, not realizing that the stairs were nearby, and I mean REALLY close by, we made our way down this steep hill. There were no good-sized rocks or tree roots, just dirt - which can be slippery when going downhill. We weren't taking any chances and slid down on our behinds. 

The photo doesn't begin to capture how steep it is. It looks like we are sitting on flat ground, but trust me. We wouldn't be sliding down if we thought we could manage it on our feet! We had a laugh when we reached the bottom and saw the stairs just to the left of the steep drop. 

We returned to our cars hot, sweaty and tired. We treated ourselves with a reward - Rein's New York Style Deli. They have gluten free foods that are prepared separately. No worries about cross contamination. What a feast for this celiac!

And then off to home, where I can view our route on a bigger screen and see where we went wrong.  After a hike like this, there's usually a slap-on-the-forehead "doh!" moment and this was no exception. Now that I've been there and wandered around, I'd like to give it another try and do it right, closely following the step-by-step directions. Or I'll hike to the overlook and back, a one-mile round trip, just for an excuse to visit Rein's Deli!

Address:  300 Valley Falls Road, Vernon CT.

Trail map:http://www.vernon-ct.gov/parks_rec/Vernon_Rails-to-Trails.pdf

Length: About 2 1/2 miles

Duration: 1 1/2 hours

Difficulty level: Difficult

Calories: 606

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