Access permits are required. Please contact the Water Authority https://www.rwater.com/in-the-community/recreation.
Trail map: https://web1.myvscloud.com/images/ctsouthcwa/splash/areas/Sugarloaf.pdf
Sugarloaf’s gated entrance and parking area is located on West Street. Take Foxon Road/North Branford Road (Route 80) to Country Road (aka West Street) near the North Branford town line to the left fork to West Street.
A Regional Water Authority (RWA) Recreation Area – this scenic recreation area got its name many years ago because its two rounded hills resembled mounded loaves of brown sugar. Today, West Sugarloaf is covered with plantations of white pine and Norway spruce and has become a roosting area for wild turkeys.
The Owl Trail has many old rotting tree trunks which are homes for many small forest animals such as screech owls and chipmunks. Look carefully and you may find an owl sleeping in the crook of an old tree.
The Sherwood Forest Trail has sugar maples that provide such a dense cover during the summer that little under-story grows here. As you walk along, you may be able to see up to 500 feet through the forest in this enchanted area. There is a long, steep climb on this trail as it ascends the west side of Sugarloaf.
Raven’s Trail is a short, steep trail that climbs over the top of the east Sugarloaf and provides a shortcut on the east leg of the Owl Trail.
The Tangled Web Trail is named for the overgrown tangle of grape vines, briars and berries growing over a section of the west Sugarloaf hill. It is an especially good place for bird watching. Merlin’s Way is a short trail that connects the Sherwood Forest Trail to the Tangled Web Trail.