Let’s talk about offroad trails and fourwheeling trails in Connecticut.

This blog covers Jeep trails, truck/SUV trails, OHV trails, and other 4WD vehicle trails in Connecticut.

So you are looking for legal wheeling and offroad trails in Connecticut. Well we dont have great news for you. When you think offroading I am sure the state Connecticut does not cross your mind, and that would be rightly so since the Northeast is not known for its offroad trails or landscape and CT falls pretty much in line with this. There used to be more offroad trails in Connecticut years ago (like 20), but due to motorized and non-motorized destruction of the trails they have been closed. Bigelow Hollow State Park, Nipmuck State Forest, Shenipsit State Forest, and Cockaponset State Forest all used to have 4×4 trails available, but now they are all gated off and have signs posted that say no 4×4’s or ATV’s allowed. You can still access these trails and other ones through the four forests mentioned here for snowmobiling, but not for OHV access. With all that being said, Where2Wheel does have 8 offroad trails in Connecticut listed on our trails map. This blog will cover a few of the trails and at the end is a screenshot to show you the pins of the 4×4 trails in CT. 

As mentioned, on the bright side there are still some random roads throughout the state of CT that still have offroad access. The catch is that you absolutely have to stay on the road/trail and not wander out into the forest or other lands because it is strictly prohibited.  Action like this will get these last few trails shutdown. Down near Chester, CT is where most of these offroad trails are located. On Where2Wheel’s map alone we have over 7 different offroad trails listed in this area. They range from Turkey Hill Marsh to Jericho Rd., which is a small field of obstacles and dirt to mess around in with your offroad rig. If you travel a little more south closer to Chester, CT and Deep River then you encounter some more offroad trails with Pine Ledge being on the more difficult side with mud and rock crawling (advised not to wheel this trail alone if you are a beginner) and then for those mudding fans, there is Spruce Ledge which is known as the “ALL mud trail”.

If you journey over to Haddam, CT then you will encounter another popular spot called Mottland Road. This 4×4 trail is said to be true offroading and is a large field of dirt/mud with slopes, hills and even some rocks to play around on. For all us offroaders in Connecticut, please remember to stay where the trail is marked and not to venture out into the unknown.

Another upside for offroaders residing in CT, if you are willing to drive a little bit and you live down near Hartford, CT then right next door in Rhode Island is a trail called East Beach Sand Trail.  This trail is located near the Ninigret Conservation area and is a beach 4×4 trail that is only open for certain seasons. It will take you about 3 hours roundtrip to get over to this beauty, but at least it is somewhere to get your rig off the pavement! There are some fees that differ based on when you go so make sure to check out this trail listing on W2W’s map here or read more about it on our Rhode Island Offroad Trails Blog. 

Lastly, if you are a residence of Connecticut and your passion is offroading, then you definitely need to check out Connecticut Off Road Enthusiasts Coalition (C.O.R.E.). Matt is working diligently to get public lands opened back-up for offroading access in CT. If you haven’t checked out their website yet, then I would highly advise it, the more offroaders helping in the fight the better! You can learn more about C.O.R.E. here  

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Hope this information helps you get your rig off the pavement and on to the trails. As always, feel free to check out Where2Wheel.com for more offroad trails and other offroaders in your area. We are here to be a resource for the offroad community, so if you know of any other legal offroad trails in Connecticut that we are missing out on, please feel free to help us offroaders out and add it to our national trails map. Below you will find an overall shot from our map of the offroad trails in CT that are currently listed and touched on in this article. Happy Wheeling!