GENERAL BACKGROUND:
The Ives Trail Greenway is a regional trail that links open spaces in Bethel, Danbury, Redding and Ridgefield.
The trail extends twenty miles, from Redding Open Space to Terre Haute in Bethel, northwest to Rogers Park in Danbury, past the Charles Ives Homestead, and then south thru Tarrywile Park.
It then continues southwest across Route 7 and through Wooster Mountain State Park to Ridgefield's Pine Mountain Open Space and Bennetts Pond State Park.
The Ives Trail is named in honor of Charles Ives who was born in Danbury in 1874. Ives blended classical music with Americana to create a new style of music and is noted for his original classical compositions, winning the Pulitzer prize in 1947 for his Symphony #3. Ives is Connecticut's state composer.
The trail visits his birthplace home and a mountain retreat area where he often composed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The number of Ives Trail markers is sufficient, but not abundant. Follow Yellow painted blazes and the main Ives Trail markers, now with a Red center.
Walking from Ives12 to Ives13 note Signal Rock on your left at N 41 21.042 W 73 29.748 just before reaching the overlook.
Signal Rock, a glacial erratic, marks one of the highest points between the Long Island Sound and West Point. During the Revolutionary War soldiers set fires atop the rock to relay signals. An erratic is a boulder transported by a glacier, but which has a composition different from the bedrock upon which it has been deposited.
The viewpoint (on the trail) offers a really good look toward the south and west. With binoculars Ridgefielders can find the St Stephen’s Episcopal and Jesse Lee United Methodist church steeples at 190 deg.
On a clear day sailboats can (supposedly) be seen on Long Island Sound.
Near here the composer Charles Ives once had a weekend cabin where he wrote “From the Steeples and Mountains” in 1901.
Due to the steep, rocky terrain this area remained largely undeveloped. Early settlers received title to woodlots on the mountain.
There are no parking or entrance fees. The park is open from 8 am to sunset. Pets are permitted on a maximum 7 ft leash.