Crescent Lake In Southington: Rugged, Scenic And Vast
October 10, 2008
It was a simple line, but Thaddeus Kobus summed up the Crescent Lake experience rather perfectly.
"This is a diamond in the rough of central Connecticut," Kobus recently wrote me in an e-mail, explaining the charms of the 256-acre area tucked away in the northeastern corner of Southington. That diamond is sparkling vividly these days with the turning of the autumn leaves.
I visited the park for about three hours late Wednesday morning and easily got the sense of the location's popularity after seeing about a dozen cars there. But the park is so vast that I only saw two other people during my journey.
The lake and surrounding property once were owned by Plainville and provided a reservoir for that town. Southington purchased the property in 2000. The lake was renamed and, yes, it has the shape of a crescent moon.
Three trails run through the park, including one that links to the blue-blazed Metacomet Trail, a 51-mile path through the heart of central Connecticut that runs from the "Hanging Hills" of Meriden to the Massachusetts border.
Norm Zimmer, a Meriden resident and founder of the Metacomet Ridge Compact, which seeks to preserve the traprock ridges that make up a majority of the trail, once called Crescent Lake the " Central Park of Connecticut" — an apt description when many people believe there could be nothing this rugged and scenic so close to a highly developed area along I-84.
"Terrain is varied and the illusion of peace is remarkable," Kobus wrote of the stunningly quiet area.
A map kiosk at the boat launch should be visited first. The half-mile-long, green-blazed trail is accessible right off the parking lot. It's a loop trail through an oak and evergreen forest crisscrossed by stone walls. The forest walk is a good warm-up, because hikers soon face a steep and rocky incline along an orange-blazed trail to the top of a traprock ridge.
The 2.5-mile-long, orange-blazed path eventually parallels the Metacomet to the top of the ridge and a spectacular overlook with the bucolic lake below. A pair of kayakers cut across the lake, adding to the peaceful scene. Be on the lookout for a huge fieldstone chimney near the overlook. (If anyone knows its history, let me know.)
The trail follows the ridge before plunging back down to the lake, passing some imposing ridges. A mile-long, red-blazed trail takes visitors back to the parking lot along the banks of the lake. It's a peaceful jaunt, with colorful leaves floating past and falling into the water.
Kobus ended his e-mail with some advice and the phrase, "Stay found."
"Weekends are busy and you had better mind the foghorn — your car will be locked in for the night," he wrote about a foghorn that sounds 15 minutes before the park closes at dusk.
So don't get lost and try not to be caught gawking on the overlook at closing time.
To see video of Crescent Lake and its trails, visit courant.com/marteka
>> To reach Crescent Lake, take I-84 to Exit 34 and Crooked Street. Take a right at the end of the road and a quick left on Ledge Road, which becomes Shuttle Meadow Road. The park entrance is on the left. Leashed dogs are allowed. Boaters must obtain a $25 permit from the town. >> Column ideas and suggestions are welcome. Peter Marteka can be reached by phone at 860-343-5239; by mail at The Courant, 373 E. Main St., Middletown, CT 06457; or by e-mail at pmarteka@courant.com.
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