office hours
Former Eagleville School House
South Eagleville Rd
Mansfield, Connecticut,
Thurs.1:30pm to 3:30pm.
Gristmill Lithograph
Joshua's Trust maintains many miles of trails on its properties for the enjoyment of the public. You will find downloadable maps of these trails on our website by following this link. We think you will find these maps easy to use, but what about when you are actually on the trail? How will you find your way?
For all the properties that have online maps, a consistent and simple trail marking system is used.
Trail Blazes: From the trailhead, you will observe paint blazes on trees (or on posts if there are no trees) that correspond to the colors on the map. Our blazes are rectangles about 2” wide and 6” tall. As a rule, they are spaced so that standing near one blaze you will have the next blaze in sight as you look down the trail. (On a well defined trail, they may be somewhat further apart). Their arrangement will give you information on what direction you should be looking to take.
A single rectangle indicates “Go Straight”. Two rectangles one above the other, with the top one offset to one side, indicates a turn in the trail. If the top rectangle is to the right, it means “Right Turn”; top rectangle to the left means “Left Turn”. The end of a trail is marked with two horizontal blazes one above the other.
Trail Colors: On each property, the Yellow Trail is the main and longest trail. Blue blazes are used to indicate “shortcut” trails that allow the hiker to complete only part of the larger Yellow Trail. Red blazes are used on spurs – short trails that lead to a viewpoint or historic site. Red trails are all dead ends, and the hiker must retrace his or her way and resume walking on the main trail. Additional trails, often side trails that connect to the Yellow Trail and allow for a longer walk, may be orange, purple or some other color that shows up well in the woods. A trail with colored dots instead of rectangles designates a short side trail off one of these secondary trails. A dotted trail will start and end on the trail of the same color. As the Trust sometimes uses white paint to mark property boundaries, if you see white blazes, you will know you are leaving or no longer on Trust property.
On some properties, there are blazes with two colors. These mark short connector trails that “connect” two larger trails or trails on adjoining properties. The color at the top of the blaze indicates what trail you are walking toward. The bottom color indicates what color trail you are walking from.
Sound too complicated? Just remember that the color of the paint blazes will match the colors on the trail maps. Occasionally, there will be an unblazed “use” trail leading away from a blazed trail. . If you find you have wandered onto one of these, just re-trace your steps to the last paint blaze, and get back on course. Enjoy you visit and come often, as each season brings new offerings.
Click here for the new trail maps.