For the few of us in CT, I wanted to share a great place to go off roading, and low and behold, it is in little ole' Ellington (Just north of Hartford, wedged between 91 and 84).

Porter Road, a town road, was never "completed" so after the first 1/2 mile, it turns into a great dirt road that quickly turns technical, with several water crossings and reasonably-sized obstacles. In addition, there are several different trails back there where you can loop around. I haven't had the courage to run the entire road yet, but I have heard it can be done by a stock vehicle.

For a bit more speed and less technical stuff, Soapstone state park has several miles of great dirt roads, which are generally well-kept but do include a few easy technical sections and water crossings. Lots of fun for novice off-roaders, or those who enjoy speed more than technical stuff.

E-mail or PM me if you are interesting in more details.

Where in relation to danbury or fairfield is this?
thanks, joe p.

Ill be in ct in june/july if you want a second 4runner to go with

Ellington is very close to Harford. It is just north, in between the wedge created by I91 and I84. About ten minutes from each.
I play ultimate frisbee every Sunday down in Fairfield, so we can meet up down there sometime when you get back. (Ellington is 1 hour from Fairfield, give or take.)

Karl

When you say that it gets a little technical , are you talking mud, rocks, streams, hills ? I might be interested in taking a ride up to see how much fun it is . Are the trails off of this old town road's also that one could ride on ?

I haven't had a chance to do much exploring back there, but I ran into a Jeep who told me that there are a bunch of different trails back there. He warned me that they narrow out a little bit, in that the trees start to hang low so you might scratch up the paint a little.

In terms of technicality, the trails vary. Most of what I did was dirt roads. Then there were a few parts with nice big ruts, a couple steeper hills, mud and large puddles.

The town road that I am talking about turned out to be the most technical. I bottomed out twice, but only b/c I was in too much of a hurry. Now that I have a lift kit, I wouldn't be as concerned, and would be willing to go further along the road to see what else is up there.

PM me if you are interested in more

How far is it from vernon? can you post basic directions?

Vernon is next to Ellington, so it is very close. Take Rt. 83 from Vernon directly into Ellington. You will pass an "auto Ranch," go through a few stop lights, and then see Kibbe road branching off on the right hand side of Rt. 83. Just up Kibbe road is Porter Road, on the right. If you stay on Kibbe it will turn hard to the left and merge back with Rt 83. Just before it does you will find a gated road on the right. This is one of the dirt roads that is a part of Soapstone State Park. I am not sure if they ever actually close this gate, but the few times I've driven by, it has been wide open, and will lead you right into the park. Let me know when you are in the area. I am in FL right now, but will be home late tomorrow (6/3)

thanks. my wife is from vernon, so we are up there every once in a while to visit. i will check with her and see if she is a familiar with the area.

this little piece of knowledge should come in handy next time i am up there and don't have anything to do!