Lakeside
Trail The Rocky River
Pumped Stored Hydroelectric
Station in New Milford was
completed in 1928. It's
purpose was to generate
hydroelectric power for the region
by pumping water into Candlewood
Lake from the Housatonic River,
and then back again to the river
to generate the power. This
was done by flooding the Rocky
River valley and creating the
largest man made lake in New
England, Candlewood Lake. (Hundreds
of families, most of them
involved in farming, were
relocated and 4,500 acres were
cleared. Ah...the good old
days when you could just tell
people to "get lost" after
living somewhere for
generations!) Most
people think of jet skis, power
boats, town beaches, and swimming
when they here "Candlewood Lake."
However, not all of
Candlewood Lake is overdeveloped
and without character. The
northern part of the lake has
maintained a natural feel to it
and this can be seen by accessing
Lakeside Trail.
Lakeside Trail and Dike Point
are brought to you by the folks at
Northeast Utilities...the rightful
owner of the lake and its shores.
They did a really nice job
here and created a gem of a trail
with an outstanding guide book and
self-guided tour that really is
quite educational.
Interesting to note: the
trail has a split personality in a
sense. Weekends during the
summer are teeming with people and
not a great place to hike unless
of course you love to people
watch. Summer week days are
much better and September to May
are the best times for exploring
this shoreline trail. This
3/4 mile trail is the only trail
made available to the public from
the 60 miles of lake coastline.
It's a shame that more
public land wasn't set aside on
Candlewood Lake because it's a
beautiful lake and there's no
reason why more public parks
shouldn't be made available.
But at least they thought
enough to make this little parcel
of land available and it's
definitely worth the trip.
The foliage season is the
best time to go but Lakeside Trail
can be enjoyed year round.
Directions: Take
Rt. 7 north. As you leave
Brookfield and enter New Milford
you'll see New Milford High School
on your left hand side. (large
brick building) About a mile
later you'll come to a traffic
light with a market on your left
and gas station on your right.
Take a left at the traffic
light onto Sullivan Rd. A
few hundred yards later to a right
onto Old Town Park Rd. This
winds its way up a hill going past
Hill and Plain School. Keep
going straight as the road
continues to twist, turn and
climb. You'll soon comes to
the dirt entrance to Gerard's
Marina. Lakeside Trail
parking, also a dirt lot, is just
to the left of Gerard's.
Don't park in Gerard's on a
warm summer day...you could be
ticketed or towed. Not fun.
Printable
version of the Lakeside
Trail page
If you have any trail updates to
share or have feedback/questions
please click
here to send email or call
203.788.7665
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