Ragged Mountain

Ragged Mountain – Berlin, CT

Elevation: 761′

Ragged Mountain is my absolute favorite Connecticut hike. It’s everything I love about hiking: amazing views, challenging, scenic, dog-friendly, well-marked, multiple trail options, and never too crowded. The best part for me is that when you’re hiking Ragged Mountain you really do feel like you’re in the deep woods and there’s no civilization for miles. That feeling of true isolation is sometimes hard to come by in such a populated area.

When hiking Ragged I often take the red/blue trail west (toward Carey street) then turn right onto the blue trail (Metacomet). The summit is about 2 miles in but you start getting views about 1 mile in. I usually follow the blue all the way back to the red/blue trail for a 6-mile loop. The bailout trails in the middle are nice though because they basically all lead you right back to the main parking area. My go-to for a short day hike is to cut through to the blue/orange path and that’s about 4 miles long.

Hiking Ragged Mountain with you pup

As stated, this is a great hike for dogs because it’s not too busy and there’s a lot of trail options. We’ve seen many snakes and deer on this trail so be mindful of your pup. I even once saw a wild turtle on the trail! There are steep sections so wouldn’t recommend hiking ragged if you’re new to hiking and not comfortable with a bit of a rock scramble. Also, some sections do get steep and require good hand/foot coordination. It is a really fun hike though if you like a good challenge!

Parking:

I usually park on West Lane. There is no parking lot so you have to just pull up on the side of the road. You’ll see the entrance sign and usually a decent amount of cars along the side.