You Are Here: Burns Hill

I hiked with Laura today, which was so much fun. We were on a time restriction and it was a chilly one, so I chose short and close (ish). Burns Hill in Milford was a perfect choice. As described in the Southern AMC Guide, the hike is only a mile long. There is a network of trails maintained by Beaver Brook Association connected to the Burns Hill trails, so we added a couple extra miles to make the drive worth it. We parked in a small lot on Burns Road in Milford and geared up in snowshoes, which ended up being a perfect choice. The snow cover was not deep, but enough that the shoes made it easy going. Most of the trail had been previously broken by bare boots except for our ascent, and we had no issues with our snowshoes on this section. The trail starts on Lower Trail before reaching an intersection. We chose to stay right on Lower Trail and then right again on Brook Trail. Everything was beautiful in the snow cover, the trail follows a brook and is well marked and well maintained. We picked up Loop Trail at the end of Brook Trail and followed this to the Mullen Road parking area for Hitchiner Town Forest and the Burns Hill trails. There is a large picnic pavilion here and I imagine a popular spot during Summer months with a large open field as well. Here we picked up what I've seen called Hitchiner White Trail, which followed an old woods road for a ways. A little ways down, a blue blazed trail went right, which we followed. I've heard this area can be very wet in Spring and following any rains, but today it was fine with the light snow cover. This trail ascended gently before rejoining the White Trail. Very shortly after this intersection, we chose to ascend via East Summit Trail, which is the shorter but steeper way up. This trail was definitely a good little climb, it appeared it might be a rocky climb in Summer, and I imagine in icy conditions it might not be the best choice, but again with the light snow cover and our snowshoes, we had no issues, even considering we were breaking trail. After a couple tenths, the steepness eased off, and while still climbing gently the going become much easier and was so beautiful. It was absolutely silent for our time out, not a single sound to be heard, and it was so peaceful and serene (except for our snowshoes crunching). The trail reaches the Burns Hill summit marked by a cairn. Continuing off trail a few hundred feet there is an open ledge with views across to the Wapack Range. Being that it was a chilly morning we didn't linger, and after taking some pictures, continued over the summit on what was now South Summit Trail for our descent. This side was much gentler and easy going. We reached the old woods road again, taking a hard left and retraced our steps staying on the White Trail all the way back to the Mullen Road parking area. Back on the Beaver Brook Trails, this time we took Hazels Trail back, which started with a fun little water crossing that had a rope assist! Hazels Trail meandered back to the first intersection we had passed on Lower Trail, which we rejoined for the short trip back to the car. A real hidden gem of a little trail network!

Strava Activity