[HN Gopher] Connecticut Trail Census Dashboard (2025)
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       Connecticut Trail Census Dashboard (2025)
        
       Author : rob
       Score  : 7 points
       Date   : 2025-10-03 00:08 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (experience.arcgis.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (experience.arcgis.com)
        
       | justinator wrote:
       | Really cool, although Connecticut is the last place in the US I'd
       | make a destination to go hiking to. But I see how it's a good
       | place to create a dashboard for, as it contains NO National
       | Forests, NO National Parks[0], No BLM, and only 2300 acres of
       | Wilderness (which this counter dashboard doesn't monitor), so
       | it's much easier to put all these counters in (and the
       | appropriate maintenance)
       | 
       | [0] (basically)
        
         | walkabout wrote:
         | The entire northeast has very little federal land. You're
         | looking at state parks and forests if you search up hiking
         | destinations there, mostly. (Acadia's the major exception)
         | 
         | CT's absolutely covered in hiking trails, it's crazy, you see
         | pull-offs and road crossings constantly. State parks, state
         | wilderness, and just about every town (equivalent of a county
         | in other places; CT has counties, technically, but they don't
         | do anything, and CT "towns" can have multiple "villages" in
         | them) has a land trust that manages even more wild areas,
         | trails, and parks.
         | 
         | Wildlife includes black bears and moose(!)
         | 
         | Outside the little panhandle bit that's basically one big NYC
         | suburb, it's a surprisingly forested state, and _feels_ far
         | more wild than lots of states that have lower population
         | density but are covered in farms. CT farms tend to be isolated,
         | not one butting up against another for miles and miles.
         | 
         | The northeastern quadrant is kinda dull but the rest of the
         | state (the bit nearest NYC excepted) is really pretty. Very
         | hilly, lots of trees, and the whole western third or so is a
         | highland that's an extension of the Appalachians. Follow that
         | up a little ways, or a bit west, and you're in proper mountains
         | in MA or NY.
         | 
         | Also, the whole state's the size of some "greater metro areas"
         | for cities, so you can go from the beach to highland hiking in
         | a day. California lite.
        
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       (page generated 2025-10-05 23:00 UTC)