Round Mountain, Mt. Frissell, Mt. Brace Loop (Mount Washington State Forest; Taconic State Park; Mount Riga State Park)

Round Mountain, Mt. Frissell, Mt. Brace Loop (Mount Washington State Forest; Taconic State Park; Mount Riga State Park)

Hike Type: Loop w/ Spurs

Distance: 5.78 miles

Elevation: 1,102 feet

Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Parking: Parking for 6 cars at the end of East St. (3 on each side of road), more parking on CT side.
Hiking Challenges: Taconic 12er, Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge

The Hike 

...AND we're right back to it! I had a short stop at my car after my Bear Mountain Loop, and now I was planning an out-and-back over Mt. Frissell to Mt. Brace and back. I saw on AllTrails there was maybe a loop option that's not on the official map from the Round-Frissell col back to the trailhead, so I planned to check that out.

[10:16am - Mt. Frissell Trail]

My hike started on the Mt. Frissell Trail, blazed in red. The trailhead sign said 1.0 miles to Mt. Frissell, 1.5 miles to Ashley Hill Trail jct., and 1.8 to the South Taconic Trail. To no surprise, the hike started on a flat old road an a vast sea of, you guessed it, mountain laurel! At least the trail was wide now, I don't think I could have emotionally handled another leg-drenching narrow trail.

I hiked past the loop trail in question that I saw on AllTrails and it was clearly closed and in the process of being taken back over by vegetation - that option was out! The trail turned at this phantom junction and began to easily rise with tree views toward Round Mountain. I could hear people ahead of me, but I did not see them. I came up to a little scrambly section that was steep but fun! I wasn't thrilled that I'd have to come down this, but it was nowhere near as bad as Bear Mountain's scrambles.

There was a brief reprive followed by another steep scramble, which kind of kept steeply climbing until the top. I started to catch up to the voices ahead and could see some nearby peaks from the top of a few of the scrambles. There were some COLD wind gusts that I wasn't ready for!

[10:34am - Mt. Frissell Trail/Round Mountain Summit]

I was almost caught up to the group ahead of me, which was seven-ish people strong, at the top of Round Mountain, which had very nice views to Mt. Frissell on one side and Bear Mountain on the other. This area reminded me a lot of the Wyanokies in New Jersey. There was a brief open plateau walk on Round Mountain before it descended to the col. I caught up to the big group here, and it took me at least 6 "hey mind if I squeeze past you?" to finally get past all of them. At least one guy complimented my hot dog shirt?

Naturally, once I got past all of them I rolled my ankle pretty painfully, but nothing too bad. I saw a little pond off-trail on the right in the Round-Frissell Col and I could hear a grouse thumping while I answered nature's call. The climb up Frissell was similarly steep, but now slabby too, and my watch was being rude about my heart rate (telling me I was at 100bpm when I was closer to 170bpm, ridiculous!). I pushed to the top and hit a very very short spur to the true summit!

[10:49am - Mt. Frissell Trail/Mt. Frissell Summit]

The summit was marked by a busted cairn (I think) and a Summit Reigster. I didn't open it because it was (to no surprise) misting again), but yay! One more peak to go! I was still lamenting about coming down the slabs and scrambles, but we do what we have to do.

The Mt. Frissell Trail descended with rocky footing on sharp rocks, similar to the Kittatinnies in New Jersey, soon opening to what I'm sure would be a wonderful view out into the Hudson Valley and the Catskills, but today it was just more clouds! After a few minutes, I made it to the MA/CT state line!

[10:55am - Mt. Frissell Trail/CT State High Point]

The State Line also doubled as Connecticut's High Point. Writing this now, I do find it fun that I hiked both Connecticut's highest peak (Bear Mountain) and Connecticuts highest point in teh same day. The area was marked by a survey disc with a comically tall pole sticking out of the middle and what looked like another register box (it should also be noted that the Mt. Frissell Trail goes between MA and CT before this point). 

After this point, the trail narrowed and became scratchier and began to descend again over a few tricky wet slabs, bringing me back into the land of mountain laurel. 

[11:03am - Mt. Frissell Trail/Tri-State Monument]

I then came to the Tri-State Monument, which interestingly enough marks the point where MA, NY, and CT meet, but only says MA and NY (the same style monument as at the MA/CT line at the trailhead parking. There was an older piece of broken marble, maybe that used to say CT? A mystery! I ran into the first human in a while just afterwards, and then I was at the other end of the Ashley Hill Trail!

[11:06am - Mt. Frissell Trail/Ashley Hill Trail]

It was fun to see both ends of this trail, it felt like my hike up Alander Mountain was forever ago! The Mt. Frissell Trail continued ahead, the Ashley Hill Trail continued right, and an unblazed herd path to presumably nowhere traveled left, which was labeled "other way ->" in pencil.

Again, the trail narrowed and began to easily rise. I was finding this hike to be mentally a lot longer than it actually was, probably because I was approaching 10 miles in the day, even though this hike was still under two miles. The Mt. Frissell Trail turned a corner, passed a pond on the right, and then came to the South Taconic Trail.

[11:15am - South Taconic Trail (North)]

[11:19am - South Taconic Trail (South)]

There were finally good views! The South Taconic Trail/Mt. Frissell Trail junction had a wonderful view down to the farmland below with a glimpse at a few Catskill slopes beneath the clouds. I was curious about the pond, so I followed the South Taconic Trail northbound to see if I could get a better view. Turns out 1) I was not on the South Taconic Trail, just an old road that parallels it, and 2) there was now view of the pond. I came to the spot where the South Taconic Trail turned off of the road bed and turned around there, now actually following the blazes and enjoying the beautiful views.

[11:24am - South Taconic Trail/Mt. Frissell Trail]

[11:27am - South Taconic Trail/Mt. Brace Trail]

I was mentally gearing up for the climb up Mt. Brace, which looked not-too-far but not-too-close. I could see some flag and structure up top, which felt exciting! My hip belt continued to keep popping off, which was very frustrating, but thankfully the hike up Mt. Brace was pretty gentle. I came to an unmarked junction with the unblazed Mt. Brace Trail. Naturally, my brain started thinking about turning it into a loop hike, but that would add at least a mile and I was nervous not knowing how that trail would be. Later problem!

[11:30am - South Taconic Trail Mt. Brace Summit]

I crossed paths with a duo just before the summit, which appeared before I even knew it! The climb was actually delightfully easy, and the top was neat! The structure was a massive rock cairn with a wind catcher on a flag pole. The summit was motly meadowed with flagging tape all about (curious about that). I loved seeing Bear Mountain, Mt. Frissell, and even Alander Mountain! It was chilly and I was tired, so I of course didn't stay long. I think I might go for the loop?

[11:35am - Mt. Brace Trail]

I descended off the summit, and decided to do it! The grade looked easy the whole way, and time-wise it would probably be the same because I'd have to go slow over the scrambles down Frissell and Round. I also didn't want to see the group of seven again... Here goes nothing!

I did see the humor in that by making this a loop, and turning Bear Mountain into a loop, I effectively added mileage to my day and was essentially doing the originally planned hike, but I didn't care! The air was starting to warm up as the skies CONTINUED to drizzle. The trail was one big long old road with loose rocks and occasional streams. The wet part of the upper trail eventually drained into and crossed a real stream, and was better afterwards with wonderful flat dirt.

I then saw a red eft, took a bunch of photos, and offically killed my phone battery. Tragic! I started hiking even faster, just grateful that I knew where I was going. I also dropped my phone immeaditely after it died, scratching the screen protector.

I caught up to a trio in a very wet, flat spot, as they were admiring frog eggs. The trail continued to descend, getting progressively wetter and wetter, which kind of sucked. It reached a low point, crossed a bridge, and climbed up through more wet trail. Eventually, it flattened out and dried out, which led to the gate onto Mt. Washington Road!

[12:06pm - Mt. Washington Road]

[12:22pm - Mt. Washington Road/Bear Mtn. Road]

There were a bunch of signs for the Mt. Riga Corp. Inc. on Mt. Washington Road, basically saying "stay off of our land." It also made it seem like some people may reside on land owned by the corporation? It's very hard to find info on it online. Thankfully, the road was in great shape and I was able to truly cruise! The walk to the Bear Mtn. Road junction was longer than I thought, but the Bear Mtn. Road junction to the car was significantly and wonderfully shorter than I thought!

[12:28pm - End of Hike]

Naturally, I ended my hike with blue skies and a shining sun. Either way, it was a fun day of exploring this little corner of Massachusetts. It was fun to hit the CT high point, and hike in three states in a day! I've also now finished the Taconic 12er peaks outside of Vermont - yay! I had a nice long drive home, and then off to the Belknaps with Christien tomorrow!

One fun thing that happened on my drive home - a Mercedes SUV from New Jersey was weaving in and out of lanes on I-90 (there were people on the road, but all driving at highway speeds) WITHOUT using a blinker. Five minutes later, I saw that same car pulled over getting a ticket. Karma!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on Mt. Frissell Trail.

- Near summit, turn right onto summit spur.

- At summit, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Mt. Frissell Trail.

- At jct. with Ashley Hill Trail, continue straight on Mt. Frissell Trail.

- At terminus, do a quick loop northbound on the South Taconic Trail, then hike south towards Mt. Brace.

- At summit of Mt. Brace, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Mt. Brace Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Mt. Washington Road.

- Follow Mt. Washington Road to car.

Map of Mount Washington State Forest

Photo Album

Bear Mountain Loop via AT, Bear Mtn. Rd., Bog Trail (Mount Riga State Park)

Bear Mountain Loop via AT, Bear Mtn. Rd., Bog Trail (Mount Riga State Park)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 3.17 miles

Elevation: 597 feet

Time: 1 hour, 21 minutes

Parking: Parking for 6 cars at the end of East St. (3 on each side of road), more parking on CT side.
Hiking Challenges: Taconic 12er, Appalachian Trail 14-State Challenge

The Hike 

The drive from the Mount Washington State Park HQ trailhead to the Mt. Frissell Trailhead was an easy 10-minute drive. Soon after leaving HQ, the road turned to dirt, and had some patches of deep gravel that was simply unpleasant to drive over. There was parking on the right side of the road signed as the Mt. Frissell Trailhead for 2-3 cars, and room on the left side for another three cars. 

The original plan was to go up Round Mountain and Mt. Frissell, then traverse over to Mt. Brace, then a long trip down and up Bear Mountain with a steep descent to close the loop. I simply did not want to deal with a wet, steep descent, so instead I decided to start with Bear Mountain and ascending the steep portion and then simply seeing what happened next!

[8:53am - Start of Hike]

I started my hike by crossing into Connecticut (marked by a cool, old monument), and continuing for maybe 100-150 feet to another parking area at Northwest Road, which was signed as leading to AMC Northwest Camp. Google Maps said the gate on Mt. Washington Road in CT was closed, but it was definitely open today!

[8:55am - Northwest Road]

I turned onto blue-blazed Northwest Road, which was an old, gated road, and hiked in, soon passing more signs for the AMC Northwest Camp. I was greeted by a sign saying:

"WELCOME

You are entering land owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club. To insure your continued use and enjoyment of this wilderness area, the following regulations will apply.

1. Camping permitted in designated areas only.

2. Wood burning fires are specifically prohibited.

3. Foot travel only - no motorized vehicles.

4. Carry out everything you carry in.

5. No hunting permitted.

AMC ridgerunner monitors area on regular basis."

Just after there were stacks of fire wood, a few wheelbarrows, and a kiosk with a brochure that was too foggy to read. 

The AMC Website reads: "Northwest Camp is a rustic backcountry cabin, secluded on a remote section of Bear Mountain in Salisbury, Connecticut. The cabin provides access to many hiking trails leading to New York and Massachusetts." Some more information by the CT AMC Chapter can be found here and here.

[8:57am - Northwest Road/AMC Northwest Camp]

Northwest Road passed the AMC Northwest Camp on the right, rock hopped across a small stream, and continued on, basically paralleling the MA/CT State Line and rising gently as rain began to fall again. My hip belt was becoming more and more of a bummer and this trail was in muddier shape than Alander Mountain. I ascended into a mountain laurel grove and I put the rain jacket back on (crankily), and soon landed at the junction with the Appalachian Trail!

[9:10am - Appalachian Trail]

The Northwest Road trail terminated at the Appalachian Trail, although the old road continued straight and was mostly obstructed. The AT was marked by a seafoam green sign, which was fun! The AT soutbound starts off by climbing easily along the side of the mountain before making a turn and climbing right up the side. The rocks were plentiful and exceptionally slippery. I heard a grouse thumping and my flatulence was giving me a nice boost as I scrambled up!

There were some nice tree views to the north and I passed my first person du jour right at the steepest spot - he was wearing baggy cargo shorts, a hoodie, and listening to some podcast out loud. The scrambling was physically challenging but super fun! I was SO GLAD I went up this way instead of down.

The tree views became more interesting the higher I climbed with MANY clouds on nearby peaks - thankfully it looked like this mountian was still in the clear. I pushed on, slightly gassing myself, and soon came to the summit area! First, there was a summit sign and a little herd path that branched off to the right to what was maybe an old trail or maybe the true summit or maybe just a grown-in viewpoint?

[9:27am - Bear Mountain Summit]

The main summit area was marked by a giant pile of socks and a plaque saying: "THIS MONUMENT MARKS THE HIGHEST GROUND IN CONNECTICUT. 2354 FEET ABOVE THE SEA. BUILT A.D. 1885. OWEN TRAVIS MASON." I guess this was before they identified the shoulder of Mt. Frissell was taller?

There were a few people of a hiking group showing up, so I kept on moving on (also it was still rainy and windy. The rain coat was off again because of the sweating, but it was still wet everywhere.

[9:32am - Appalchian Trail]

The AT from this point on was an absolute treat! Easy, descending grades. I only had to be careful of puddles and an occasional slippery rock. I passed a few folks hiking up, all of whom appeared to be day hikers. I kept stopping as more and more viewpoints over towards Mt. Brace and Mt. Frissell began to open up. Nearby bushes were starting to bloom, and the sun kept trying to poke through, but it was generally not successful. I noticed after using PeakFinder my phone battery plummeted to 19%, so I threw it on airplane mode and low power mode in hopes of keeping it alive!

The trail entered an eroded section as the trees began to grew taller. I also realized I forgot chapstick... The descent continued into an endless sea of mountain laurel with birds singing everywhere (I was thrilled to recognize the Eastern Towhee, thank you, Merlin!). Eventually, in the sea of mountain laurel, I came to the junction with the Bear Mountain Road, which would bring be back to Mt. Washington Road.

[9:49am - Bear Mountain Road]

This "road" was actually a narrow footpath with ankle-tickling and ankle-soaking mountain laurel on both sides - it was unpleasant. It was also somehow still misting out when the rain was supposed to be long since done... I traversed a wet spot and wondered how long I would be stuck in this laurel-ous hellscape, but thankfully after about 10 minutes I came to a junction. Only plus of this stretch was seeing Bear Mountain through the trees.

At the junction, I could decide what my next move would be. I could turn right onto the Bog Trail, which said closed on AllTrails but was very clearly open, and close this loop before starting a seperate hike up Mt. Frissell and Mt. Brace, or I could continue the loop onto Mt. Washington Road and up Mt. Brace, ending with Mt. Frissell. The thought of dealing with more mountain laurel and the unknown road walk and Mt. Brace Trail had me convinced to close the loop, so I turned right.

[10:00am - Bog Trail]

To my delight, the Bog Trail was a dream! To no surprise, it circled a bog! On a bog boardwalk! The boardwalk was super slippery, so I had to go nice and slow. I followed the yellow blazes along, enjoying the sounds of peepers in the bog. I was enjoying it, until a grouse scared the LIFE out of me! Awful little birds... There were small interpretive signs throughout the trail, which were just lovely, and there was a sign saying "BOG BRIDGE 2015" at the end of the boardwalk nearest the camp.

Now back at the camp, I hiked past a fire pit and a cabin with a sign indicating that this was an old growth area, whic was pretty neat! I hiked down around the cabin and over a nice bridge back to Northwest Road, closing the loop.

[10:10am - Northwest Road]

[10:12am - Road Walk to Car]

The stem of the lollipop loop was nice and easy. I had a short walk to the gate and another short walk back to the car, which was already at the next trailhead! There were two new cars total in the area.

[10:14am - End of Hike] 

I did a quick stop at the car to drop a water bottle and throw on some chapstick. The main plan was to out-and-back Mt. Frissell and Mt. Brace, but I was open to a loop option if it spoke to me. Time will tell!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike by walking south on East Street (MA)/Mt. Washington Road (CT).

- At trailhead, turn left onto Northwest Road.

- At jct., turn right onto Appalachian Trail (southbound).

- At jct., turn right onto Bear Mountain Road.

- At jct., turn right onto Bog Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Northwest Road.

- At terminus, turn right and return to car.

Map of AMC Northwest Camp & Area

Photo Album