Strafford Cross Town Trail

 

The Cross Town Trail runs from the highest point on Old City Falls Road to the Sharon town line in 4 maps with a length of over 12 miles. Follow the old Copperas Road leading from the south end  to connect to the Norwich Gile Mountain trails and beyond.


Map 3 covers the PWMA trail from Old City Falls road through  the Churchill tree farm and Podunk Wildlife Management Area (PWMA) to Pennock Road  .

Map 4 covers from Pennock Road to Alger Brook Road (Pennock trail)  and the new Morrill Link to the upper village.

Map 5 covers  from Alger Brook Road to  Rt 132 (Alger trail and Egg rock trail) and Richarson Trails


Map 6 covers from Mine Road to the Sharon town line.

 Map 3 Old City Falls to Pennock Road.

Start at the cross roads at the highest point on Old City Falls Road. Follow (east) down the gated Churchill Tree Farm access road, straight through the landing to the road on the opposite side. Then watch for the flags where the trail leaves the road to the right, The yellow flags will lead you to the trail through the PWMA where there are old foundations and stone walls  where it supported several farms. The southern portion follows the VAST route. At Pennock road go right about 1/4 mile to a clearing on the left. The trail continues south near the old foundation on the edge of the clearing. Old City Falls Road to Pennock Road is 2.3 miles.

Going north on the VAST section watch  for 2 right turns where the trail branches off  to the right.

Cross Rivendell Trail connection

You can continue north on the Cross Rivendell Trail  (CRT) or connect coming south from the Cross Rivendell Trail by following the Moody Swamp road just over 2 miles. 

Going north on the Crosstown Trail follow Moody Swamp road. Watch for the small CRT signs on the right once you find you're following the Old City brook on the right. Here you can take the CRT either east or west.

Coming from either direction on the CRT follow Moody Swamp Road East  to the end on Old City Falls Road and beginning of the Crosstown Trail.


Map 4
Cross Town Trail -Alger Brook north to Pennock Road


Park at high point on Pennock Road and walk down the hill to the trail head which starts next to an old foundation on the right. To go north start at the height of Alger Brook road, travel  along ridge then down the hillside to PWMA. Good views,ancient grave sites, old orchards, stone walls and farmsteads from early 1800s. 2.3 miles.  About a mile in from ALger brook Road is the newest addition.  The 2.2 mile Morrill Link leads west to  Strafford village. The trail head is at the Justin Morrill Homestead. If you park at the homestead  go up the driveway, then left across the stone bridge and through the fence and right up the brook following the yellow flags you will get to the Cross Town trail in just over 2 miles.

Map 5

Cross Town Trail- Alger Brook to Rt 132, Richardson trails


From Alger brook south there's little climbing to top of Whitcomb hill about 1.3 miles. Excellent views. From here the Crosstown trail goes  south  to rt 132, 2 miles. This is Egg Rock Trail. Look for the big boulder on the ridge. Alternately down to Furnace Flats access point and parking. Summit of Whitcomb Hill to 132  is 1.4 miles, Alger Brook to Rt 132 at Furnace Flats 3 miles. Views from Whitcomb Hill are the best on the trail and recent clearing has opened vistas to the west and the Green Mountain chain.

Richardson Trails-
These trails provide scenic access to Richardson Hill and the old Sargent farm via a short steep ridge. It is only .6 miles to the top of Richardsons which has steep hillsides and the most extensive red oak stand in Strafford. A side trail goes down the south face to an old farm with some of the most impressive stonework on any local abandoned farm. An early record shows the Sargent family owning this farm and accessing it from Rt 132. Find these trails on Skunk Hollow Road. Going north from Thetford, one mile up on the left is a trail sign and parking in an old log landing. Thetford calls this Wells Fargo Road. WARNING - This road is not plowed so is accessible only in the summer. NO PARKING available Dec 1 to May 1 and land owner requests NO DOGS.
A longer more interesting access can be used starting on Miller Pond Road at the first brook crossing and is available year around. This trail climbs and crosses Skunk Hollow Road where the main trail continues up Richardsons.

Map 6

Cross Town Trail - Mine Road to Sharon Line


Trail starts on Rt 132, crosses the river on Tyson highway bridge and goes left (downstream) along the river bank then climbs through an interesting wetland and then open hardwoods  to cross the Mine Road  1 mile from South Strafford village. From the Mine Road it runs  south,  then climbs to the ridge line and continues along the ridge west of the Elisabeth mining cuts and drops onto Copperas Road at Sharon town line. WARNING - Copperas Road is not always plowed in winter.

 

Sargent Farm Trail
This trail branches off Richardson Hill  trail and goes down the south face to an old farm with some of the most impressive stonework on any local abandoned farm. An early record shows the Sargent family owning this farm and accessing it from Rt 132. These settlers must have had some Incan ancestors given their stonework.
Below is a sample of the Sargent farm stonework. Photo credit to Will Cooney.

 

 

 Please respect these properties. The generosity of the individual land owners makes this resource possible.

Make a free website with Yola