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The blue blazed side trail off Bulls Bridge Road in Kent, CT, and all NPS land between the AT and the Housatonic River are closed until further notice due to resource damage. Parking on Bulls Bridge Road, Schaghticoke Road, and Route 7 in Kent is prohibited.
This is at the AT Northbound mile of 1462.3 in the WhiteBlaze Pages guidebook.
So the 3 parking areas on those roads are now closed, correct? ... including what looks like a 20 car lot on Route 7?
I imagine it's from being over run the last few months. Are the parking areas and side trail expected to reopen at some point or is that unknown? .... I didn't go all the way down the side trail on my hike but went to the little view areas and was a nice little section along/above the river. It's such a short loop and (looks like) a big lot there, I could see how it might of became too much since March
From what I know of that area it's been hit hard in the past by the 'city crowd' coming up with boom boxes, chairs, coolers, grills and leaving trash behind along the banks of the Hoosaotonic. This started to happen back when the NY DEC shut down their former spot along Rt 23A in Palenville NY in the Catskills, and later Blue Hole in the Catskills. For a while there was a steward posted at that blue blazed trail which made that crowd look for other areas, I didn't know if they came back to Bulls Bridge but apparently they did.
Once again the party animals who crap up the outdoors have ruined it for the rest of us.
Resource damage can mean a lot of things. Over-use by the public and/or litter generation, ATV/bicycle damage to trails, vehicle contact damage to the single lane covered bridge that prevent people from safely reaching views of the river flowing through the narrow gorges, or storm damage from thunderstorms and high winds which there has been several storm events recently along the river and may require clearing and/or stabilization.
There is a significant difference between families aka "city crowd" getting away for a few hours retreat to a lovely setting and yahoos on ATVs, the preferred method of alcohol and mayhem transport tearing up the real estate, and a line of convective weather events that uproot trees. It very easily could be an over crowding issue preventing social distancing that caused it to be shut down for a while, much like other State and local parks in the region have experienced.
The OP did not indicate what the resource damage consisted of, so perhaps more information is needed before aspersions are cast.
Here is some further information from the ATC:
TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF NPS LANDS NEAR BULLS BRIDGE, CONNECTICUT (TOWN OF KENT)With the exception of the treadway of the Appalachian Trail, all National Park Service lands west of the Housatonic River and south from the Bull’s Bridge Road to Ten Mile River, including the river front Blue Blaze Trail are temporarily closed to all public access and use (Segment 286: Tracts 04 and 27). Use of the Appalachian Trail (White Blaze Trail) is still permitted in this area.This area has been receiving very high levels of day-use visitation. Misuse within the area has resulted in resource damage and illegal dumping. This closure is temporary, with no established reopening date.
Attachment 46579
After several meetings with all of the stakeholders, the Bull's Bridge Trail (mi1462.3) that provides access for AT hikers to the covered bridge (and more importantly the general store) has been reopened. At least for now. You may recall we had to close that trail when the volunteers who took on the task of keeping the area safe and enforced the rules, all quit after a lack of available law enforcement support and being harassed by visitors. Parking for day use remains limited.
Jim Liptack
CT-AMC Overseer of Trails