Little River North Trail
- Ownership
- Redding Land Trust, the Samuel E. Hill Family, Centennial Watershed State Forest
- Entrances
- North Side of Cross Highway, just west of bridge over Little River
John Read Road
Putnam Hill Drive
Pheasant Ridge Road - Parking
- Cross highway, south shoulder east of trailhead; other entrances, roadside
- Trails
- 2.8 miles, white blazes, from Cross Highway to Pheasant Ridge Road
- Trail App
- Little River North
Background: The Little River North Trail was put together largely through the cooperation of two private landowners, Sam and Betty Hill and the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company. Each gave permission for the Town to provide trail access across their land so that a continuous path might link two Land Trust holdings (off Black Rock Turnpike and Pheasant Ridge Road) with the town's Little River Preserve (between Cross Highway and Newtown Turnpike). This trail is a key element of Redding's plan for a greenbelt running the full length of the scenic Little River Valley.
Key Features: From the Cross Highway trailhead, the path proceeds north along the Little River, providing views of open fields on the other side.
With the river on its right, the trail continues for almost a mile to a log bridge across a branch of the river. After crossing and recrossing a stone wall, the trail leaves the river and soon crosses John Read Road. Thereafter it winds and climbs, sometimes overlooking a mossy brook or a small swamp, until it reaches a high point. As the trail descends from here, handsome rock cliffs are seen on the left.
After emerging upon Putnam Hill Drive, the cul-de-sac of a subdivision, the trail comes out on Black Rock Turnpike and proceeds north on the Pike for 400 feet before entering woods on the highway's east side. Another crossing over a log bridge takes the trail to a climb through groves of laurel and hemlock, and then through a stone wall. Look for two exceptionally large shagbark hickories on your right, and, after crossing a streambed, large twin maples. The Trail ends at Pheasant Ridge Road on Sunset Hill. ❧
