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Roaring Brook, Cheshire CT
Sometimes the best hikes are tucked away little gems. Not a national park or even a state park, but beautiful pieces of land owned by their respective towns. Roaring Brook is the perfect example, despite being in the next town over I had never heard of it. Named after the “roaring” brook that divides the park, it is filled with water falls and cascades and I can see why it’s enjoyed so much by the locals.
There is very little parking at the end of a residential road and the park was well trafficked the day we went. Just find a spot on the side of the road if you have to and be careful not to stray off the path and into private property on the first leg. You’ll find the bottom of the park to be a totally flat marsh, and a truly beautiful emerald color. The highlight of this area is a huge old chimney, but don’t stick your head inside, it’s filled with spiders! We stopped to admire this and the foundation and then discovered that the rest of the journey is entirely uphill.
Choose to go left and you will ascend a rock and loose dirt incline directly to the main water fall. To the right is a crumbling paved road that is a much more gentle affair. We choose to go left so we could have an easier time descending and to also have the waterfall reveal in front of us, which you don’t get going right. Although there are a number of little waterfalls that are great to look at, the main water fall is fairly large and the main attraction. Be warned though, the path does not go near the fall and ends probably 200 plus feet away before circling around it to continue climbing. If you want a close up view you will have to climb down a small ravine and bushwhack your way to the base of the falls. We witnessed someone do this but we weren’t about to attempt it with our dog!
As you head to the top you will be rewarded with a few more small falls before crossing a bridge over the stream. At this point the descent is fairly unremarkable and paved. We did stop for a bit to enjoy the enormous amount of dragon flies in the field near the bottom though. I would rate this as being a bit moderate on the way up but over all a very easy and family friendly hike... and one that was filled with dogs!
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