NorthernEndOfBreakneckPondfacingsouth.jpg
Morrowlong · CC BY-SA 3.0

Breakneck Pond–Bigelow Pond, 6 lakes is an 11.8-mile out-and-back in Nipmuck State Forest near Union, CT. The route passes Bigelow Pond, Breakneck Pond and Reservoir No. 5 before reaching Hatchet Pond at the turnaround, 5.8 miles in. It climbs 717 ft. It scores 57/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: backcountry feel.

Elevation

0 mi673 – 883 ft12.1 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Bigelow Brook Road 41.99219, -72.12944
Nearest town Union, CT

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Breakneck Pond–Bigelow Pond, 6 lakes

11.8 mi · ▲ 717 ft · 4 hr 18 min

Elevation 671–884 ft

Out & Back · Nipmuck State Forest

Trailhead: Bigelow Brook Road · 41.99219, -72.12944

Weather Aug 4: Overcast, high 79°F / low 62° · precip 0% · wind 5 mph · sunrise 5:46 AM · sunset 8:05 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading SE.
  2. 50 ftPass Bigelow Pond.
  3. 0.1 miSharp left, heading NE.
  4. 1.5 miTurn left onto Breakneck Hill Road, heading N.
  5. 50 ftPass Breakneck Pond.
  6. 150 ftSharp right, heading SE.
  7. 1.3 miTurn left, heading NE.
  8. 100 ftContinue straight onto Snow Sled Road, heading N.
  9. 0.4 miTurn left, heading E.
  10. 0.1 miTurn right, heading NW.
  11. 450 ftBear right, heading NE.
  12. 1.2 miPass Reservoir No. 5.
  13. 50 ftTurn right onto Breakneck Road, heading E.
  14. 1.1 miPass Hatchet Pond.
  15. 50 ftTurn right, heading W.
  16. 400 ftReach Breakneck Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  17. 400 ftTurn left, heading N.
  18. 1.1 miTurn left, heading N.
  19. 1.2 miBear left, heading SW.
  20. 450 ftTurn left, heading SW.
  21. 0.1 miTurn right, heading SW.
  22. 0.2 miContinue straight onto Snow Sled Road, heading W.
  23. 0.2 miTurn right, heading SW.
  24. 1.3 miSharp left onto Breakneck Hill Road, heading SW.
  25. 100 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  26. 1.5 miSharp right, heading SW.
  27. 450 ftArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

57% dirt43% unspecified

Weather

OvercastTemperature 79°F62°
Precip0%Wind5 mphUV8Humidity82%
Rained 0.8″ yesterday (2.4″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
80°60°
Sunrise 5:46 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:05 PM
Wed 80°64°
Thu 87°67° 52%
Fri 92°70° 38%
Sat 89°69° 41%
Sun 91°70° 15%
Mon 91°70° 20%

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 4.4 mi in (~120 min). Leave by 5:45 PM for the 8:05 PM sunset. Back at your car by 10:17 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

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