Trails

Columbia is very fortunate to have many public trails including two long-distance State Rail-Trails.  Did you know you can hop on the East Coast Greenway and walk or bike to Key West Florida? Or, north to Calais Maine? Or a shorter jaunt to Portland CT? There’s also diverse habitats and beautiful vistas to enjoy. Below is information, and links, to information on Columbia trails.   

The Columbia Trail Map shows the location, trails and parking. The descriptions below refer to the numbers on the map for example, [1].   

Motorized vehicles are not permitted on any trail. Please help to protect the habitats by taking only photographs, leaving only footprints, always keeping dogs on-leash and by respecting private property.

RAIL Trails

Hop River Trail on the East Coast Greenway (State) [1]  The East Coast Greenway (Click here for the website), conceived in 1991, is the nation’s most ambitious long-distance urban trial connecting existing and planned shared-use trails on 2,900 miles from Key West, Florida to Calais, Maine. This segment is a State rail-trail that follows the Hop River on Columbia’s northern border. Access points are at various road crossing, parking is limited at each. Permitted trail usage is hiking, biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing.    

Airline Trail (State) [2]  Along Columbia southeast border, this rail-trail runs from Portland, CT to the Eastern Connecticut Railroad Museum in Willimantic where it connects to the East Coast Greenway and continues to Thompson CT. Access points are at various road crossings, parking is limited at each. Permitted trail usage is hiking, biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. More information is available at Connecticut's website (Click here for the website) under outdoor recreation. 

LOOP TRAILS

Mono Pond Recreation Area (State) [3]  The main access point is at the boat launch off Hunt Road; there are two trails that start at the trail head near a large boulder at the edge of the parking lot. 

The Yellow Trail is a one-mile loop. The shoreline portions are popular for fishing access.  Part of the Yellow Trail has been developed as a Nature Trail with a guide available on the back of the sign board in the parking area. The guide emphasizes succession of the area from farmland to forest, and the variety of plants and animals in the different habitats along the way.  

The Red Trail begins where the Yellow Trail loops back. It is a fairly rough, and sometimes wet, trail that parallels the shoreline of the pond as far as the main inlet with a short loop at the end that then returns you along the same path.           

Trails at Island Woods (Columbia) [8]  The trails offer diverse habitats to explore. Park at the dead end of Lake Ridge Road, the main road through the Island Woods Subdivision. The White Trail is a half-mile loop through second growth forest, the trail begins at either side of the cul-de-sac. It is fairly level and dry year-round.  

Trails at Szedga Farm (Columbia) [7]   Szedga Farm was acquired in 2008 with funding from Columbia’s Open Space funds and State of Connecticut DEEP grant. The goal is to preserve open space and passive recreation and enable active use of agricultural lands. Szedga Farm includes 1.8 miles of hiking trails. There are two parking areas on Szedga Road, a small lot serving the Upper Trails on the east and a larger lot for the Lower Trails to the west, the two areas are connected by an un-blazed mown trail through the field.  See below for the Szedga Farms Trails map. 

The Upper trails consist of the Habitat and Ridge Top Trails. Habitat Loop (purple blaze) is a mostly level trail that passes through a variety of habitats that are great for observing wildlife: vernal pool wetlands, early succession fields, and a hardwood forest. Ridgetop Trail (yellow blaze) climbs to the top of a rocky ridge with nice views in winter, then descends fairly steeply to a small hemlock grove and returns below the cliffs.

The Lower Trails consist of a Multi-use Trail and the Quarry Trail. The Multi-use Trail (red blaze) follows old farm roads along the edge of an old hay-field and then to the top of a ridge. A nice intermediate trail for cross-country skiing; also permitted on this trail is horseback riding and bicycles. The Quarry Trail (blue blaze), somewhat a misnomer as the old quarry was very small, leads to a rocky knoll with seasonal views of the valley below.

Trails at Recreation Park (Columbia) and Utley Hill Preserve (Joshua Trust) [4,6]  The Utley Hill Preserve was given to the Trust by George and Patricia Becker in 1978. Its 118 acres are a significant part of the watershed of Columbia Lake. In addition to protecting this watershed, it also offers a diversity of habitats for plentiful wildlife. The property includes mature forest, a scenic perennial stream, and an extensive marsh; historically, the stream supplied power for a series of mills whose ruins may be seen from the white trail that runs along the western side of Utley Brook.

The trails on the Utley Preserve continue onto Town-land to the west and Columbia Recreation Park to the east.  Ample parking is available at Recreation Park, and limited parking available on Lake Road across from Erdoni Road. See below for the Recreation Park/Utley Preserve for trail maps.

Potter Meadow Preserve (Joshua Trust) [5]  Potter Meadow was given to the Trust by Whitehall Properties in 1988. It is a 34-acre parcel that lies entirely within the floodplain of the Willimantic and Ten Mile Rivers, and may be impassable after heavy rains. Long used by the Potter family as pasture land, today it provides excellent wildlife habitat with a variety of wetland and riparian types as well as an adjacent sandy area used as a turtle nesting area.  Access is at the end of Commerce Drive. See the Joshua Trust website (Click here for the website) this link for this and other Joshua Trust trails.

Sunrise Drive Preserve (Columbia) [9]  located at the end of Sunrise Drive, a trail leads to the Ten Mile River.

Ten Mile River Access (Columbia) [10]  located at the end of Samuel Hill Road, there are hiking trails and fishing along the Ten Mile River.

Columbia Town Green (Columbia) [11]  Found at the intersection of Route 87 and Route 66 in the center of town, is the Town Green. Adjacent to the Town Green is the Town Hall Campus with the Adella G. Urban Administrative Offices, Yeomans Hall, Town Hall Annex, The History Place, Saxton B. Little Library, Chapel on the Green, Moor’s Charity School and Horace Porter School. The grounds are landscaped and have several war memorials around the flag poles and other memorials that have been placed over the years.