This two town East-West trail is the most ambitious project undertaken by the Wintonbury Land Trust. It begins at the renovated Filley Pond Park in Bloomfield Center and meanders through Bloomfield’s LaSalette Open Space and Wintonbury Land Trust’s Hawk Hill Farm and Stout Family Fields to reach the New England National Scenic Trail in Penwood State Park. Once a hiker reaches the Metacomet Ridge, the trail will connect to the Simsbury Land Trust’s Tanager Hill and Owen-Mortimer preserves down the west side of the ridge to reach the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge in Simsbury Center. The length of this trail is around 6.6 miles and at certain locations will use local roads to link the various trails together.
March 2022 Update
Erosion from severe rains last summer and drainage problems in Bloomfield’s LaSalette Open Space caused portions of the LaSalette Trail to become a muddy or icy adventure for intrepid hikers. Volunteer trail steward Drew Smith added stepping stones to a steep slope between the park pond and Anthony’s Way.
Also, Bloomfield Public Works took advantage of winter’s frozen ground to bring in equipment that could remove debris at the park’s pond dam and elevate the existing drainage pipe. That is expected to restore the outflow to its intended channel and prevent the pond from overflowing across the trail.
Project Status: 80% complete
Projected opening date: Summer 2019