# Jericho Trail > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jericho_Trail > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jericho_Trail.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_Trail > Source revision: 1301102000 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Hiking trail in Connecticut, US}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{More footnotes needed|date=May 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox hiking trail | photo = BBHTJerichoBrookDamFalls4.jpg | caption = Jericho Brook water falls over ancient broken dam into pool below. | location = [Mattatuck State Forest](/source/Mattatuck_State_Forest), Watertown (near Thomaston and Plymouth), Litchfield County, Connecticut | designation = CFPA Blue-Blazed Trail | length = {{convert|3.4|mi|km}} {{cite book | author = Colson, Ann T. | year = 2006 | title = Connecticut Walk Book West | publisher = Connecticut Forest and Park Association | isbn = 0-9619052-6-3 | edition = 19th }} | use = [hiking](/source/hiking), [cross-country skiing](/source/cross-country_skiing), [snowshoeing](/source/snowshoeing), [fishing](/source/fishing), [rock climbing](/source/rock_climbing), [geocaching](/source/geocaching) | highest_name = Crane's Lookout | highest_ft = 810 | difficulty = Easy to moderate difficulty, some rock scrambling. | sights = Naugatuck River Valley, White stone cliffs, Rock House, Crane's Lookout. | hazards = [hunter](/source/hunter)s, [deer tick](/source/Ixodes_scapularis)s, [poison ivy](/source/poison_ivy) }} The '''Jericho trail''' is a {{convert|3.4|mi|adj=on}} [Blue-Blazed](/source/Blue-Blazed_Trails) [hiking](/source/hiking) trail in [Watertown](/source/Watertown%2C_Connecticut), near the border with [Thomaston](/source/Thomaston%2C_Connecticut) and [Plymouth](/source/Plymouth%2C_Connecticut), [Litchfield County](/source/Litchfield_County%2C_Connecticut), [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut). The trail is contained almost entirely in a section of the [Mattatuck State Forest](/source/Mattatuck_State_Forest). The mainline trail is a linear north–south "hike-through" trail. The trail is listed as one of the three short '''Waterbury Area Trails''' in the Connecticut Walk Book West. The Jericho trail is a linear trail with a trailhead and parking area at the trails southern terminus on Echo Lake Road and a connector trail leading to Connecticut Route 262 in the west. The northern terminus terminates at the trail's intersection with the [Mattatuck Trail](/source/Mattatuck_Trail) near the Rock House and Crane's Lookout. Notable features several scenic overlook views including an 810-foot summit with a 270 degree panorama (Crane's Lookout {{Coord|41.6293|-73.0565|display=inline}}). The trail stops just before Crane's Lookout and the Rock House underneath, both which are on the Mattatuck Trail.Connecticut Walk Book: A Trail Guide to the Connecticut Outdoors. 17th Edition. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Rockfall, Connecticut. Undated. The trail is maintained largely through the efforts of the [Connecticut Forest and Park Association](/source/Connecticut_Forest_and_Park_Association). ==Trail description== thumb|200px| Jericho Trail head sign at junction with Mattatuck Trail. The Jericho Trail is primarily used for [hiking](/source/hiking), [backpacking](/source/backpacking_(wilderness)), [rock climbing](/source/rock_climbing),{{cite web |url=http://www.climbfind.com/places/outdoor-rock-climbing/united-states/whitestone-cliff-plymouth-ct |title=Outdoor rock climbing at Whitestone Cliff Plymouth CT & Whitestone climbing partners - Climbfind.com |accessdate=2010-05-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708134636/http://www.climbfind.com/places/outdoor-rock-climbing/united-states/whitestone-cliff-plymouth-ct |archivedate=2009-07-08 }} and in the winter, [snowshoe](/source/snowshoe)ing. ===Trail route=== From the north it is also possible to connect to the Jericho Trail via the Mattatuck Trail (which can be found in [Black Rock State Park](/source/Black_Rock_State_Park)), or to hike in using either of two unmarked paths (which include dirt road portions), one off of Park Road the other on.{{cite web|url=http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2697&Q=322832|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121213041055/http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2697&Q=322832|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 13, 2012|title=DEEP: Letterboxing Clues for Mattatack State Forest|author=Department of Environmental Protection|publisher=ct.gov|date=2011-11-08|accessdate=31 May 2016}}right|thumb|200px|Inside the main room of the famous Rock House at the intersection of the Jericho and Mattatuck trails. ===Origin and name=== The trail is named for Jericho Brook which the trail follows for a length of less than a mile in the upper northern half of the trail route. ===Folklore=== The [Leatherman](/source/Leatherman_(vagabond)) was a nineteenth-century vagabond who traveled approximately ten miles a day in a thirty-four (34) day circular route between New York's Hudson River in the west and the Connecticut River in the east. His circuit was also bounded by Long Island Sound in the South and the Litchfield Hills in the north. He was found dead in March 1889 near Ossining, New York, in his Saw Mill Woods rock shelter (apparently of mouth cancer due to his use of tobacco) and is buried at the [Sparta Cemetery](/source/Sparta_Cemetery), [Route 9](/source/U.S._Route_9_in_New_York), [Scarborough, New York](/source/Scarborough%2C_New_York).[http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/leatherman.html Research by Dan W. DeLuca] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206020416/http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/leatherman.html |date=2006-12-06 }} (retrieved July 21, 2006) ==Hiking== The mainline trail is blazed with blue rectangles. Trail descriptions are available from a number of commercial and non-commercial sources, and a complete guidebook is published by the [Connecticut Forest and Park Association](/source/Connecticut_Forest_and_Park_Association) in the Connecticut Walk Book west. A map of the Thomaston and Watertown sections of the trail is available from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at its website.{{cite web|title=Mattatuck State Forest: Thomaston and Waterbury|url=http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=458150|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601190319/http://ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2716&Q=458150|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 1, 2010|publisher=Conn. Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection|accessdate=6 December 2011}} Weather along the route is typical of [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut). Conditions on exposed ridge tops and summits may be harsher during cold or stormy weather.{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.gov/ |title=National Weather Service | NOAA |publisher=weather.gov|accessdate=31 May 2016}} ==See also== * [Blue-Blazed Trails](/source/Blue-Blazed_Trails) * [Leatherman (vagabond)](/source/Leatherman_(vagabond)) * [Mattatuck State Forest](/source/Mattatuck_State_Forest) * [Naugatuck Railroad](/source/Naugatuck_Railroad) * [Naugatuck River](/source/Naugatuck_River) * [Watertown](/source/Watertown%2C_Connecticut) ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== {{CTHikingStdExternalLinks}} ==External links== Specific to this trail: * [http://www.ctmuseumquest.com/?page_id=5636 CT Museum Quest Article on the Jericho Trail] * [http://www.ctmuseumquest.com/?page_id=4854 CT Museum Quest Article on the Whitestone-Jericho Connector] Government Links: * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100601190319/http://ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2716&Q=458150 State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection page for the Mattatuck State Forest, including a map] * [https://archive.today/20121213041055/http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2697&Q=322832 State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Forestry Division Letterboxing Clues for Mattatuck State Forest] * [http://www.watertownct.org/ Town of Watertown Website] Leatherman: * [http://www.makemeknow.com/Regional/USA/CT/Legend_of_the_Old_Leatherman_185.php The Legend of the Old Leatherman] * [http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34330/cold-spots-the-legend-leatherman Cold Spots: The Legend of the Leatherman] {{ConnecticutTrailSystem}} {{Protected areas of Connecticut}} Category:Hiking trails in Connecticut Category:Protected areas of Litchfield County, Connecticut Category:Watertown, Connecticut --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jericho Trail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_Trail) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_Trail?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.