By Lisa Peterson

The phrase walking my dogs used to mean me and my dogs navigating the 50-foot walk from the house to the kennel and back again.

When we all started getting fat a few years back I decided my three Norwegian elkhounds and I needed some exercise routines to return us to our former svelte physiques. In the beginning, we would just walk to the end of our property – maybe 400 feet. But at least it was a beginning. We gradually built up our endurance and today I walk at least one hour and sometimes two or three hours with multiple dogs at my favorite dog walking areas in Newtown.

Bruno and I get up at 6 am and drive over to the former Fairfield Hills grounds. We meet up with a group of nearby residents and their dogs. It is great fun to be part of a dog walking group as the dogs look forward to daily rituals and meeting “their” friends.

Once our group gathers at an old red barn adjacent to tall grass fields, we have the giving of the toast. Several women in our group bring freshly toasted bread slathered with butter as treat for the dogs. Then we head off for a brisk walk along the Deep Brook Trail.

One dog in our group, Toby, a handsome, jet black standard poodle, refuses to start the walk until his best friend, Max, arrives. Max has the deep brown and black fur of a German Shepherd. While I’m sure Toby won’t begin his walk because he’s waiting for Max, it just happens that Max’s mom brings more toast. While Toby’s Mom also brings toast, you know how it is with dogs. The other dog’s bone always looks better than his own.

Dogs aside, some of the scenic vistas to be seen at Fairfield Hills have taken my breath away. One morning we were greeted with a brilliant electric orange sunrise shadowing violet clouds the likes I have never seen east of the Hawaiian Islands. Recently, tall grasses waving in the wind gave way to neat little rows of grass drying in sun only to turn into handy bales of hay the next. Deer bounding across open meadows could be seen scattering nesting birds in bursts of energy.

Eventually, we reach the meandering Deep Brook. Here the dogs love to go for a swim in the hot weather or tank up on a drink before heading out to more rugged terrain. Another dog in our group, Cocoa, a female chocolate Labrador retriever, becomes exuberant during the water sports portion of our walk. Bruno especially likes Cocoa’s mom because she brings the best little multi-colored bone-shaped biscuits.

With multiple dogs to walk I have to take those I left behind in the morning on the occasional afternoon walk, least I let my guilt about letting the dogs lead a boring life, get the best of me. So I head to my two other favorite dog walking hotspots – Holcombe Hill and Huntington State Park.

Holcombe Hill

Holcombe Hill, an 86-acre Newtown Forest Association property located off Great Hill Road in the Taunton District, is my favorite short walk. The “green meadow trail” paths are well mowed before they hay so it creates a meandering walk across a sunny hillside. A quick trip around the green meadow trail can be walked in 30 minutes.

If it’s too hot in the early afternoon, I will opt to take the dogs on the “brown woods trail” on the western side of the preserve. In the woods, the shade will keep the dogs cool from the midday sun beating down. It offers varied terrain and logs to jump over for added exercise. It can get muddy in places especially in the spring after heavy rains but most of the time it’s passable.

At the end of our walks, I add the “red vista loop” at the summit of the hill. At 832 feet above sea level, it’s the highest point in Newtown. There are several park benches from which to enjoy a stunning view of Newtown. With no trees on top of the hill you can see all the way to Oxford, Waterbury and Southbury. Dogs can also curl up under park benches for shade.

Based on the slope of the land taking the meadow loop to the left from the entrance offers the dogs a good warm-up before tackling either the wooded trails or the incline on the west side of the meadow. Sometimes we will do the loop to the left and turn around and do it to the right to make for a nice longer walk ending at the summit with some quality petting time at the park bench.

A word of warning – watch out at the entrance for dogs who just can’t wait to go, while most dogs make it off the trail, many do not and I don’t think there is a pooper scooper law in effect in Newtown just yet.

 

Huntington State Park

The most exciting thing about taking the dogs to Huntington State Park is the new access from Equestrian Ridge Road in Newtown. Made possible by the Kelda Lands acquisition by the State of Connecticut in March, you can park in the cul-de-sac at the end of the road and walk a few yards down Shut Road (an un-maintained town road) to the entrance to the park. What was formerly just a pedestrian entrance now can accommodate dogs and horses as well.

What I like about this back entrance into the park is the shady canopy in the warmer months. The walk is steep in parts, a great work out for man and beast alike, but very cool among the rock outcroppings and heavy vegetation. In early June, the flowering Mountain Laurel, resembles new fallen snow on the jagged black boulders along the trail.

Huntington is best walked on the weekdays when pedestrian, equestrian and mountain biking traffic is lightest. There are a multiple assortment of terrain for dogs from woods to wide open fields to several ponds suitable for swimming (dogs not people).

While these are just my own personal favorites for the dogs, I’m always discovering new places to walk the elkhounds. I highly recommend Mary Mitchell and Al Goodrich’s Newtown Trails Book, (available at the Library for $15 with all proceeds benefiting the library), as an excellent source for new places to take your dog for a walk. Your dog will thank you.

 

Lisa Peterson is the Public Education Coordinator for the Newtown Kennel Club and the AKC Delegate for the Norwegian Elkhound Association of America. She is the owner of Peterson Pet Sitting, LLC and can be reached at 270-1732 or elvemel@aol.com