Trails: White, Yellow, and Red Trails
Hike Location: Kent
Falls State Park
Geographic Location: northeast of Kent,
CT (41.77668, -73.41678)
Length: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: August 2015
Overview: A loop hike beside long, cascading Kent
Falls.
Directions to the trailhead: Kent
Falls State Park is located on the east side of US 7 5.1 miles north of Kent,
CT or 4 miles south of Cornwall
Bridge, CT. Enter the state park, pay the confiscatory
entrance fee ($4 higher than any other state park I have ever visited), and
park in the large blacktop parking lot.
The hike: Located in extreme western Connecticut
less than 5 miles from the New York
state line, Kent Falls
State Park protects 495 acres
around its namesake waterfall. The main
land parcel was donated to the state in 1919 by the White Memorial
Foundation. The depression-era Civil
Works Administration developed the park, and the Youth Conservation Corps of
Connecticut reconstructed many of the park’s trails in the 1970’s.
Kent
Falls State Park
offers only a few picnic tables and 1.5 miles of trails in terms of
facilities. Thus, the waterfall remains
the park’s centerpiece. Nevertheless, the
park’s website warns that the park closes when the parking lot fills, an
indication as to how popular this park can be.
Most park visitors only hike to the falls, so any crowds you may
encounter will thin out after you get past the highly developed trail along the
cascade. Somewhat to my surprise, when I
came here on a warm Saturday morning, there were only two other vehicles in the
large parking lot.
 |
| Covered bridge at trailhead |
Start by
crossing the red and white covered bridge at the left (north) side of the
parking lot. The covered bridge is a
reproduction built in 1974 by Edmund Palmer, a state park employee. Once across the covered bridge, angle left on
the wheelchair-accessible paved path to arrive at the base of
Kent
Falls. For a 250-foot waterfall, the shallow plunge
pool is quite small, making a dip look uninviting. Moreover, entry into the water is prohibited
by park rules.
 |
| Base of Kent Falls |
The trail
ascends the right side of the waterfall using several sets of well-constructed
steps. Several viewpoints provide views
of cascades, each cascade higher up the hillside than the previous one. As such, the waterfall seems to go on and on
without end. A few pools allow the water
to collect, but for the most part the string of cascades is continuous. Although the water volume on my early August
visit was only moderate, each cascade was still quite scenic.
 |
| More cascades |
 |
| Top of Kent Falls |
Just past
0.3 miles, you reach the upper-most viewpoint.
This point gives a nice view of two consecutive 8-10 foot drops, which
turn out to be the very top of the waterfall.
The nice steps end here, and most people turn around at this
viewpoint. However, the trail continues
up the hillside by using a switchback to get around a vertical cliff.
At 0.4
miles, you reach the west shoulder of gravel Dugan
Road, where the trail you have been following
ends. To continue the loop, turn left and
use the narrow concrete road bridge to cross Kent Falls Brook. Now on the north side of the creek, look for
the red blazes that enter the woods on the left to begin the return route.
 |
| Descending on the Red Trail |
In contrast
with the very developed trail you climbed on the south side of the creek, the
dirt Red Trail is rather primitive with a large number of roots to impede your
progress. 0.5 miles into the hike, the Yellow Trail exits right. This intersection is marked by a sign with
yellow letters that spell out “trail” and an arrow. The shortest route back to the parking area
would be to continue straight on the Red Trail, but for a change of scenery and
to see a little of the area’s history, turn right to begin the Yellow Trail.
 |
| Descending on the old road |
The Yellow
Trail quickly joins an old dirt road and begins a gradual descent. Some stone walls mark old property boundaries
that predate the park and remind you that this land was once farmland. At 0.8 miles, the trail curves left to briefly
leave the old road only to rejoin it at a slightly lower elevation after making
a broad switchback. Traffic on US 7 can
be heard downhill to the right.
 |
| Old stone walls |
1.2 miles
into the hike, the Yellow Trail ends at its lower junction with the Red
Trail. Turn right on the Red Trail to
begin the final segment back to the trailhead.
While the descent on the Yellow Trail was quite gradual, the descent on
the Red Trail is quite steep with many roots to cause footing issues. A final left curve deposits you at the north
side of the parking area near the covered bridge, thus marking the end of the
hike.
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