Mirror Lake, Castle Craig, Merimere Reservoir Loop is a 4.4 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Meriden, Connecticut that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
Please note that Hubbard Park has an extensive trail system with various color blazes. There are multiple trails to take to reach the destinations along this route. There are many variations to take to shorten or lengthen your hike. Downloading the offline map is recommended as users have reported that the trails are not marked well.
We came across the highway foot bridge and then followed the white trail and then the blue trail up to the Castle. Very steep but the views at the top were lovely (even for an overcast day). Around the castle we noticed lots of broken glass and were very concerned for my dog. Coming down from the castle on the orange trail, it was a steep descent on unstable small rocks and yet more glass for most of the way. You definitely need your hiking poles for this one! I would also say this is not a dog-friendly hike with all of the glass. Trail markers are not consistent either so new hikers should have both the app and also the guide that they can download from the map at the parking lot. If the glass and markers were cleaned up this would be so much better - although definitely on the harder side of moderate!
Great hike with fearless leader Chantal the Great aka “Olive Oil”! My recorder started late but overall 10.1 miles
How the heck is this one of CT's top trails? Uneventful, views of houses, packed with people
Great trail! A little muddy due to melting snow but the great views were worthwhile.
Very loose and rocky. Tough to do with a dog the keeps trying to pull you over every cliff....