Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Reserve (also called Pierrepont State Park) is a public recreation area covering in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Ridgefield,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

offers opportunities for hiking, fishing, and boating.

History

General Wooster led his troops down Old Barlow Mountain Road during the Revolutionary War. John Barlow's blacksmith shop was located here. An old foundation of the Scott House dating from the 1720s can be seen at the boat launch area. The stone walls and enclosures in the park were built by the Scott family when they farmed the land. Diplomat

Seth Low Pierrepont Seth Low Pierrepont (1884–1956) was a United States diplomat and politician. Early life and education Born in Brooklyn, New York on December 25, 1884 to Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, a merchant, and Ellen Low, Pierrepont was one of six children. ...

purchased the land from the Scott family in the 1930s, improving the property by having a dam built at an "impassable swamp" and creating Lake Naraneka. He bequeathed a portion of his estate, including the south and eastern shores of the lake, to the state upon his death in 1956. The opposite shore of the lake was sold to developers by his widow.

Activities and amenities

The park's five blazed trails include one around the south end of Lake Naraneka (Pierrepont Pond). The park's main trail is the white trail, which goes along Pierrepont Lake from the parking lot, ascends to the highest point in the park, and then descends to a minor entrance. Hiking is easy around the lake, but moderate, with steep sections everywhere else. The top of Barlow Mountain offers views of Pierrepont Lake, Redding hills, and on rare occasions,

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. The park offers picnicking facilities, fishing, and a launch for non-motorized boating on Lake Naraneka.

References

External links

Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Reserve
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Map
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection {{authority control State parks of Connecticut Ridgefield, Connecticut Parks in Fairfield County, Connecticut Nature reserves in Connecticut Protected areas established in 1956