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46-436: There are now over 825 miles of CFPA Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails that pass through 96 towns traversing both public and private lands. This includes all official main and side trails. The main line trails are marked using the solid light blue rectangular vertical paint blaze . A recent change in blaze design to official CFPA connector, side and alternate trails is now in use. The new design standard for blaze markings for these trails

92-519: A red background, Regional Route numbers have a blue background. The system of symbols is based on that used by the Danish National Cycle Route network . The colour used may also indicate the status of the route, for example on rights of way in England and Wales yellow marks are used for footpaths, blue for bridleways, and red for byways open to all traffic. In addition to reassuring

138-463: A landmark" ( Oxford English Dictionary ). There are several ways of marking trails, including paint, carvings, affixed markers, posts, flagging, cairns, and crosses, with paint being the most widely used. A painted marking of a consistent shape or shapes (often rectangular), dimension and colour or combination of colours is used along the trail route. The system by which blazes are used to signify turns and endpoints in trails (see below) strongly favors

184-476: A minimum. By contrast, in a typical municipal, county , or state park , or any land open to a wide variety of users, or in a well-developed metropolitan area, blazes will be more frequent. Single-track hiking trails also receive more blazes than those that follow old roads or other more obvious routes. On a large piece of land, there is likely to be more than one trail. While it might seem obvious that, at minimum, trails should at least take different colours, this

230-848: A mountain hiking trail in Japan. Red ribbons usually indicate an ascent route while yellow ribbon indicate a descent route. On some mountains, a non-standard ribbon colour (white or blue) is used to identify a specific trail. Poles, colored or not, are often used to keep the trail visible during winter and under snow cover. Poles are standard trail markers in Austria , Canada, USA, the Czech Republic , Switzerland , and Slovakia . Cairns are carefully arranged piles of stones. Cairns are most commonly used to indicate trails in open areas, such as higher-elevation alpine areas , where no trees are available, or where conditions may make blazes hard to see. An ancient example

276-546: A part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and similar (e.g. state and municipal) work camps and programs. After rapid growth in the 1930s persisting into the mid-1940s, the post-"World War 2" housing boom began to encroach upon sections of the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails, particularly in heavily populated areas affected by the move from urban cities to suburban developments. This trend continued in

322-729: A result of agreements reached between the CFPA, Nature Conservancy, the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Aquarion Water Company (previously the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company). In 2014, the two trails were joined to create over 18 miles on continuous trail is the heart of Fairfield County. The Connecticut Forest & Park Association (CFPA) offers the Blue Trails Challenge . Hike any of

368-563: A rock climb). Occasionally sticks or poles places in the ground are used instead of trees (especially in open fields) with a blue blaze or the top painted blue. Blue blazes are painted on telephone poles, road guard rails, buildings (rarely) and other signs (rarely). Sometimes wooden tags or wooden arrows are nailed to trees (or sticks stuck in the ground) though this is much more common on non-Blue-Blazed trails. Some trail sections are marked using blue plastic diamond signs or metallic disks nailed in trees rather than painted blazes. Signs indicating

414-769: A similar system of white and coloured stripes. Slovenia, Croatia and other former members of Yugoslavia use Knafelc trail blaze . In the United States and Canada , a single colour is used, usually white, red, blue or yellow. Trails in South Africa are often marked by yellow footprints painted on trees and rocks. In Israel , trails are marked by three stripes. A painted stripe surrounded by two white stripes can indicate length with black, green, blue, or red representing short (<10 km) trails, and purple or orange representing longer trails (60 to 100 km). In addition, some trails are represented by specific colour combinations such as

460-828: A slightly staggered junction, only one trail may be signed, often with the longer or more heavily trafficked trail's blaze predominating. In other cases, such as southern Vermont where the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail follow the same path, both trails may use the same white blaze. A quite different blazing system, called mute blazes was created in the Czech part of the Giant Mountains . The blazes, cut out of sheet metal and painted red, are suspended on high poles, thus being visible to both hikers and skiers. Unlike in classic systems, they do not refer to paths or trails, but show

506-763: A suitable detour could not be found. The route of the original (much longer) Naugatuck Trail and several other CFPA trails blazed in the 1930s can be seen in the Connecticut Forest & Park Association's 1940 Connecticut Walk Book map of major trails . On the same map you can see that at one point in time almost all of the major Blue-Blazed Trails west of the Connecticut River were interconnected (the Appalachian, Mattatuck, Tunxis, Quinnipiac, Mattabesett, Metacomet, Naugatuck, Pomeraug and Paugusett). Several trails were truncated or were broken into pieces with gaps (e.g.

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552-404: A trail besides those on foot. Another possible distinction is by season. In Norway, it is common to use blue for summer routes and red for winter routes. Red routes may traverse lakes and swamps, which are flat and well suited for cross-country skiing in winter, but impassable on foot in summer. Colours are often assigned simply with an eye toward making sure that no two trails that intersect use

598-714: A variety of educational programs for adults and children. It publishes the “Connecticut Walk Book East” and “Connecticut Walk Book West” for their Blue-Blazed Trails in Eastern and Western Connecticut that are available at many public libraries. The CFPA established the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System in 1929, when the Quinnipiac Trail was created. This trail system includes more than 825 miles of Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails that pass through 88 towns traversing both public and private lands. Notable trails managed by

644-480: Is available to those who complete five sponsored "letterbox" hikes (in each separate state forest you must hike the described route, find the "letterbox/cache" and record your visit in the "letterbox" book ). The State Forest Centennial campaign dates to 2003 (the centennial of the first official state forest in Connecticut). A walking stick is available for those who complete the letterbox hike of all thirty-two (32) of

690-547: Is not always done. In Mount Greylock State Reservation, which contains the highest mountain in Massachusetts , all trails other than the Appalachian Trail use the same blue blaze. Blaze type might also be mixed when different user groups (i.e., snowmobilers , horse riders , mountain bikers ) are allowed on trails. For users of faster vehicles, blazes are often larger in order to be seen better at high speeds, and sometimes affixed markers best communicate who may and may not use

736-400: Is sometimes used to indicate trail routes, but usually only for temporary or unofficial trails, most commonly when a trail route has been selected but the trail itself is under construction. Flags are sometimes used for permanent trails, but they are the most vulnerable to the elements of any trail blazing method and may be more difficult to see. Trail flagging is the predominant method to mark

782-746: Is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit , Inupiat , Kalaallit , Yupik , and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland . This region, above the Arctic Circle , is dominated by the tundra biome and has areas with few natural landmarks. Below the tree line, cairns are used less frequently, often like flagging to indicate informal or unofficial paths or just their junctions with official trails. They may become obscured by snow in areas with heavy winters and may be easily knocked over. In some areas

828-767: Is the oldest private, nonprofit conservation organization in Connecticut . The organization is credited as an important early pioneer of the national land conservation movement and as an early advocate of long distance trail building. The mission of the CFPA is “to conserve the land, trails, and natural resources of Connecticut. The CFPA established and maintains the 825-mile Blue-Blazed Trails Hiking Trail system and has been instrumental in acquiring more than 100 state parks and forests across Connecticut. The organization publishes guidebooks and maps, conducts ecological surveys, provides advice on sustainable forestry, advocates for land conservation, maintains and builds trails, and conducts

874-411: Is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaze in the beginning meant "a mark made on a tree by slashing the bark" ( The Canadian Oxford Dictionary ). Originally a waymark was "any conspicuous object which serves as a guide to travellers;

920-468: Is the same light blue blaze as the main trails with the designated color square painted below and abutting to the blue blaze. The Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails and other trail systems listed in the Connecticut Walk Books by the Connecticut Forest & Park Association are also known as the Connecticut 400 for their total length in miles in the early 1970s. The list of Blue-Blazed (maintained by

966-601: The CFPA include the Quinnipiac , Regicides , Nipmuck , Mohawk, Tunxis , Mattatuck, and Shenipsit Trails. The Metacomet and Mattabesett Trails are part of the New England National Scenic Trail , also referred to as Triple-M Trail. This 220 mile route extends from Long Island Sound to Mount Monadnock in Southern New Hampshire . Connecticut Woodlands is a quarterly magazine publication of

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1012-453: The CFPA) and other trails listed in the current Connecticut Walk Books and/or CFPA website are: While the light blue paint blazes are usually vertical rectangles painted on trees to mark the trail, there is often a bit of variety in terms of both paint blazes and signage found on a Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail. Usually direction is indicated with one blaze to indicate 'go straight ahead', two blazes with

1058-499: The Connecticut Walk Books. The Connecticut Walk Book West (2006, 19th ed.) includes a Connecticut 400 Club hiking log and instructions on submitting the log for the award. The State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) Forestry Division provides two awards for locating and visiting " letterboxes " (similar to geocaches) in Connecticut's State Forests. The commemorative ' State Forest Centennial Patch'

1104-637: The Golan Trail (white, blue, green), the Jerusalem Trail (blue, gold, blue), and the Israel National Trail (white, blue, orange). Blazes may also be painted on obvious rock surfaces or on posts set into the ground (or on utility poles, fences, or other handy surfaces) where the trail follows a road or goes through fields and meadows. In North America, Australia and New Zealand, there are trails blazed by cuts made in bark by axe or knife, usually

1150-821: The Tunxis and Mattatuck trails). References to lost or vestigial portions of Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails can still be found in the land use planning documents of local municipalities such as recommendations to purchase for open space several tracts of land over which the Naugatuck Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail once traveled (e.g. April 1998 Town of Bethany Conservation Commission's ' Open Space Plan' ). The number of Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails and their total mileage have continued to increase in recent years. The Saugatuck and Aspetuck Valley Blue-Blazed hiking trails in Fairfield County were added in 2005 and 2006 respectively as

1196-490: The US, generally for a much smaller rock pile than a cairn, typically stacked just high enough to convince the observer it is not natural. For most, two rocks stacked could be a coincidence, but three rocks stacked is a duck. In some regions, ducks also contain a pointer rock (or a couple of stacked rocks) to indicate the direction of the trail. A wayside cross is a cross by a footpath , track or road , at an intersection, along

1242-432: The blaze, the rectangle is cut into an arrow, to indicate direction. A diagonal cross is used to indicate a direction should not be taken: the cross will have the same colours as the blazes (each bar will use a different colour). [REDACTED] Media related to Trail blazes at Wikimedia Commons Connecticut Forest and Park Association The Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA), established in 1895,

1288-640: The concept and formed the first CFPA "Trails Committee". The Quinnipiac Trail was the first Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail created, followed by the Metacomet Trail and Mattabesett Trail in 1931–1932. During the Depression the size of the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail system expanded both in total length and the number of trails. In many cases unemployed workers were used to help build the trails as well as other projects in Connecticut's parks and forests as

1334-670: The edge of a field or in a forest, which often serve as waymarks for walkers and pilgrims or designate dangerous places. They are particularly common in Europe, for example in Germany , Galicia and the Alps . It can be made of wood, stone or metal. Most wayside crosses are designed as crucifixes . In US wilderness areas , whether state or federal, the US Wilderness Act requires that the land seems "untrammeled by man," and so blazes are often kept to

1380-447: The former. Most often these are informal routes made by loggers or hunters , or trails descended from those routes. Originally a tree would be blazed by hatchet chops (still the dictionary definition) but today other methods have become more common, with environmental and aesthetic concerns sometimes playing a part in the choice of blazing method. Other navigational aids, such as cairns , are used where blazes are unsuitable. In 1902

1426-418: The latter half of the twentieth century, accelerating in some cases, and even expanding in the new millennium following a new trend of prosperous residents moving to large expensive houses on multi-acre lots in rural exurbs far from population centers (often derisively nicknamed "McMansions"). Residential housing and follow-on commercial development caused hiking trails to be re-routed or disappear altogether if

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1472-688: The miners of Idaho created and marked the Three Blaze "shortcut" Trail with a series of three distinctive blazes cut on the trees, usually with an axe, to define the specific route to the Thunder Mountain Mines of Central Idaho. Alternatively, more long lasting plastic, metal or even sometimes wooden markers may be affixed to trees, usually with nails. The placement of these markers requires more skill and labor than paint, as well as an area with an abundant supply of trees to which to attach them. Surveyor 's tape hung from branches or tied around trees

1518-478: The recreational building of numerous cairns has obscured the proper use of cairns to mark junctions and crossings. In some areas of the United States, park rangers and land managers must disassemble excess cairns when they become eyesores or when they mislead navigation. Where rocks are scarce, poles can be used. Poles are also frequently used to mark ski and snow shoe trails. Duck is a term used in some parts of

1564-458: The same one, but it can go further than that. On all state land in New York 's Catskill Park , for instance, primary trails, especially longer "trunk trails" that go great distances, use red markers if they go in a generally east–west direction and blue if they go north–south. Shorter spur, loop or connector trails generally use yellow blazes. On occasions when two trails run concurrently, usually at

1610-687: The side of a paved road is usually marked with the signature professional blue oval sign indicating the name of the trail. These are mounted on metal posts driven deep into the ground. On December 27, 1929 at the Graduate Club in New Haven the Reverend Edgar Heermance (Connecticut Forest & Park Association's Secretary) met with several companions and described his idea for the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System. The group embraced

1656-697: The state forests. Many of the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails in Connecticut travel through or near one or more of the State Forests, often very close to the sponsored (DEEP) letterbox. In 2012, the CFPA created a series of videos highlighting 10 of the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails. The series, " Tales From The Trails ", was funded by the state Office of Culture & Tourism , and promoted via their YouTube channel. ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL146788DE7B1A68B9 ) Books – Connecticut hiking [ edit ] Books – Connecticut history and geography [ edit ] Trail blazing Trail blazing or way marking

1702-428: The terminus, parking area, intersection of side trails or other points of interest may vary also, from painted or carved/engraved/routed handmade wooden signs on trees or posts to framed glass official CFPA professionally printed white background signs to pieces of paper in plastic protectors (either handwritten or computer printed or copied). The terminus points for major Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails and some side trails on

1748-513: The top blaze to the left indicating a left turn, two blazes with the top blaze to the right indicating a right turn, and two blazes directly on top of each other indicating the end of a trail (two parallel horizontal rectangles is the new preferred form). Three blazes indicates that the trail is forking in two different directions (as in a loop). But directional arrows are also often painted on rocks, trees and other stationary objects, particularly when they can provide better information (such as 'Up!' on

1794-534: The trail user that they are on the trail, the signage can alert them to imminent turns, particularly if there is some confusion about what might be the trail, and where trails begin and end. Offset blazes is a system whereby a vertically stacked pair of blazes with the upper one offset in the direction that the trail turns. This system was first used in 1970 on the Beech Trail in Harriman State Park. This system

1840-530: The trails in the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System, log your miles, and earn prizes. There are three categories (200, 400, and 800 miles). In 1974 the Connecticut 400 Club award was established by the Connecticut Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) to recognize those who have hiked the entire length of all of the trails (Blue-Blazed and not, main line, connector and others) listed in

1886-406: The two blazes indicating the angle and direction of the turn. Also, a few trails indicate turns with two stacked blazes, without an offset, but this can cause confusion as the direction is not implied. In addition, other trails may use two non-offset stacked blazes to indicate the trail goes straight at a location where there may be a tempting mis-turn. A triangular pattern with its point to the side

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1932-429: The use of paint blazes. European countries usually use systems of painted bars or shapes in more than one colour. The Czech Hiking Markers System uses three bars – usually one color in between two white bars, with different meanings attached to different colours – in a 10 cm x 10 cm square. Red is often used to mark difficult or summit trails. Arrows of similar design signal a change of direction. This system

1978-487: The way to the nearest mountain huts and adjacent towns and villages with the possibility of overnighting and catering. National Trails in England and Wales generally use an acorn symbol. The National Cycle Network in the United Kingdom is signposted using a white bicycle symbol on a blue background, with a white route number in an inset box, but with no destination names or distances. National Route numbers have

2024-566: Was also devised for eventualities like spurs or junctions, but these have not caught on. In some areas, a triangular pattern with its point up indicates that a hiker is at the point of a sharp switchback. In the Netherlands, signage usually consist of two bars above each other: white-red, yellow-red and red-blue are commonly seen blazes. An upcoming turn is indicated by duplicating the blazes: white-red-white-red, yellow-red-yellow-red, etc. Nowadays, stickers are often used, and instead of duplicating

2070-595: Was first used in today's Czech Republic in May 1889, to mark a trail from the town of Štěchovice to a nearby spring. Today there are 42,000 km (26,000 mi) of marked trails in the Czech Republic. This system is used also in Slovakia , Ukraine , Croatia , Romania , Albania , Brazil , Philippines and Mongolia . Poland , Bulgaria and Georgia used very similar system. French, Italian, Austrian and Swiss trails use

2116-416: Was further refined to where a triangular pattern of blazes would indicate a terminus, its point up or down depending on whether that was the beginning or the end. These began to be used elsewhere and are now fairly common throughout North America, though variations of this system exist. Some trails instead use two blazes painted together at an angle to form an "L" shape to indicate a turn, with the angle between

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