Robert Ross Trail

The Robert Ross Trail climbs from the Farmington River valley floor to a series of rocky overlooks with sweeping views across the Farmington River valley and the surrounding hill country of northern Litchfield County. The trail begins near the river and ascends the western ridge of the valley through a forest that tells the story of changing land use and ecological succession across two centuries of Connecticut history. Lower sections pass through young mixed hardwood forest regenerating on former farmland; mid-slope sections traverse older second-growth with large sugar maple and American beech; the upper ridge supports a xeric chestnut oak community on thin, rocky soils where blueberry heaths and pitch pine patches create an open, park-like character. The viewpoints near the upper trail look directly down into the Farmington River gorge, one of the most scenic river valleys in Connecticut, where the Farmington flows through a series of rapids and pools that support exceptional populations of wild trout and attract fly fishermen from throughout New England. The overlooks are positioned on quartzite ledge outcrops that drop steeply into the forested valley below, creating vertigo-inducing perspectives across the canopy to the river and opposite ridge. In late October, the view from the upper overlooks encompasses a vast expanse of fall foliage color that ranks among the finest elevated vantage points for autumn leaf viewing in the Connecticut highlands.