An amazing view from Soapstone Mountains fire tower is worthy of a trip to this obscure Connecticut park.
Short on time, we decided to hit a spot close to Nina's house that wouldn't take too much time. Soapstone mountain is a popular but remote little spot north-east of Hartford. The mountain is ringed with multiple trails and most lead to the Fire Tower at the top. This fire tower was recently rebuilt, wonderfully well I might add, and its the main focus of most peoples hikes here.
You can drive to the top, of course, but why would you do that? The trail is located right next to the lower parking lot and took us only 30-40 minutes. It's steep and pretty rocky for a Connecticut hike, but it's so short you'll just break a sweat when it finishes.
The fire tower view is really a gem!
It easily ranks among the best in Connecticut, giving you sprawling views into Massachusetts. The deck is really big, easily the largest fire tower platform I've seen in New England. We decided to bring Finley the Aussie, but it seems his fear of bridges has no extended to towers. Upon ascending to the top he laid down and refused to move :(
Look at that view! The park is also dog friendly we saw so many
As an added bonus to our trip, we stopped at the Tower on Fox Hill in Rockville. This Veterans War Memorial tower was locked when we went, and seems to be an online joke in some blogs about how rarely it's open, but provides a commanding view of the town below even just from it's lower platform. A hidden secret is that just down the road is a waterfall wedged in between some factories. It was fenced off during our visit but I'll be back next year!
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