One of central Connecticut's Trap Rock Ridges, Ragged mountain provides excellent views and a moderate hike along a 6 mile loop.
I won't lie, the name of this place kind of turned me off from hiking here sooner. The reviews online also definitely made it sound like a fairly unpleasant trail, but the locals love it so what's the deal? This is mainly a 6ish mile loop with some intersecting trails. There are TONS of unmarked side trails so it's easy to get lost if you aren't paying attention.
The fact is, your experience here will depend on which direction you do the loop. We went counter clockwise and found ourselves making a gradual ascent to the highest point and then a fairly steep time heading downward. Most people we encountered were going the other way. Since a lot of these people seem to only hike up and back the same way this saves them time, but also makes for a steep hike.
The disadvantage to hiking counter clockwise is that there really isn't a view on the first half of your hike. If it's wet enough you'll find a small [TINY] water fall in your first quarter mile, but that's about it. The second half of your hike will be full of fantastic views so I can understand why people only hike that half, but this is why so many people probably believe this trail is so rough.
Now, I recently bought a new camera, unfortunately I forgot that they come with the factory setting of taking JPEGs. We had this wonderful encounter with a pair of turkey vultures and while I managed to take tons of photos... the quality is awful. Very sad I missed this one! It was early May when we took this hike so not much was out yet, but I suspect this park is great for birds due to all the water.
Near the end of the hike our friend was once again flying by. He kept a very healthy distance this time, only giving us a quick side eye. Even with a 300mm zoom I felt a mile away. The first encounter I was as close as 50 feet from them! With all of the open cliffs and view points at this park you will definitely have many chances to see wildlife flying by.
The highlight of this park is the views overlooking several reservoirs and ponds to the east and west. To the south you can also see the hanging hills of Meriden where the popular Castle Craig is located.
We found that even on this drizzly day the park was quite busy. Every view point had at least a few people hanging out and the parking was very full. Plan accordingly!
Like my bird encounter I also photographed the water fall in JPEG by accident. Terrible...
It's hard to find information or good photos of this online, but on the northern part of the park is the small waterfall. It's definitely seasonal and requires some recent rain to be of any significance. It is NOT worth hiking here just to see this, but if you are going to do the full loop it's a pleasant surprise. Given that there really are no views on the northern side of the park, this is your one real sight.
As far as views, the western views are wider, and more interesting. The biggest viewing spot is a large cliff, probably a football field or more in length that is open and treeless at the highest point of the mountain. This area was filled with people but we never felt crowded. We even saw lines for someone climbing down the cliff, though we couldn't see them.
So do I recommend this park? Yes, especially if you catch a less cloudy day then we did. If you plan to do the full loop then take the hike counter clockwise, you'll thank me :)
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