Leave the mountain bikes, and young children, and dogs at home for this one – at least until you’ve seen it yourself. There is one very steep spot with some rock scrambling that would be difficult for the dogs…..and in an effort to “go around” they might get stuck in a spot that’s difficult for you to reach to help them. Stay on the trail.
Specifics:
Please SEE THE WEBB MOUNTAIN WEBSITE and print out the MAP of the park there!
The Entrance to the Park is off of East Village Road in Monroe, on Webb Circle, at N41° 22.000, W73° 10.206. Follow the park road “Old Fish House Road” for .5 miles -- past the map under the powerline, and on to a Parking lot. Park here. Drinking water is available at the SW end of the lot. DON’T WORRY if there’s no signal! There WILL be…where YOU’RE going!
Follow the road on down from the parking lot, and turn left on the Blue Trail at N41 22.455 W73 09.897. From here, the cache is only .6 miles ahead.
The crux of the hike is on the Blue Trail a third of a mile from the road. Enjoy this cool section – a steep scramble – you don’t get this very often! Right above this the trail divides – the Blue trail goes to the right. (But if you listen closely with your left ear, you might hear “Ridgewalk” calling….)
The final cache is a 50 – caliber Ammo Box, and it is jammed with good stuff. If you walked this far, you should get something nice! So please bring your quality stash of trading items!
Background:
The Town of Monroe purchased Webb Mountain Park (136 acres) in 1972 from the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred E. Wagner. The park has many unique features from when the Wagner family owned the land. The Wagners built and ran a sawmill on the land for three years. They also owned a Christmas tree farm, and planted several kinds of evergreens, such as Balsam, Frasier, and Douglas Firs, White and Blue Spruce, and Scotch and White Pine. These evergreen plots have overgrown, and are now campsites at Webb Mountain Park. Camping Permits ($5) are available at the Monroe Town Hall. Camping is permitted from Memorial Day through November 1st.
In addition to the variety of trees, many other things can be found, like the foundation of the family’s old sawmill, a man-made pond and “goat rock”, and the scenic overlook point (on the Red trail at N41 22.656 W73 09.634). Visitors to the park today can have a magnificent view of the Housatonic River, hike on a series of trails (over 4 miles) including the Paugusset “Blue Dot” Trail, and go camping.
In 2004, the Town of Monroe purchased an additional 171 acres of adjoining land, to be added to Webb Mountain Park. This raises the Webb Mountain acreage to 307, and the total amount of connected open space to over 700 acres!