Pine Knob Loop

US 7, Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut

Source: Hardy #12; Laubach and Smith, #5

Directions:

Drive to the western end of Cornwall Bridge (the junction of US 4 and US 7) and head north on US 7 for a mile; a blue oval sign says "Pine Knob Loop." Park here.

Lots of fishermen also use this because it is a good access point to the Housatonic River.

Geology:

The area is located on the edge of the Housatonic River Valley with the double peaks of Pine Knob providing excellent views of the Housatonic River.

Trails:

You can take a hike up the mountain and then start a circular walk going counter-clockwise north, to northwest, to southwest, to southeast and back to the junction with the start of the circular trail; and finally back down to the parking lot.

The trail is 2.5 miles long and a hiker should be able to make it in two hours, but a botanist may take at least twice as long or longer.

There is a hook up with a trail leading to the campground at Housatonic Meadows State Park.

PLANT LIST:

Trees:

Acer saccharum (sugar maple)

Acer spp. (maples)

Betula lenta (black birch)

Carya spp. (hickories)

Castanea dentata (American chestnut)

Fraxinus spp. (ash)

Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)

Picea abies (Norway spruce)

Pinus rigida (pitch pine)

Pinus strobus (white pine)

Prunus serotina (black cherry)

Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)

Quercus spp. (oaks)

Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs:

Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern)

Epigaea repens (trailing arbutus)

Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen; checkerberry)

Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)

Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)

Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)

Rhododendron sp. (wild azalea)

Rosa sp. (wild rose)

Vaccinium spp. (blueberries)

Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)

Vines:

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)

Herbs:

Apocynum sp. (dogbane)

Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)

Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit)

Cypripedium acaule (pink lady's slipper)

Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)

Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed)

Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)

Medeola virginiana (Indian cucumberroot)

Monotropa uniflora (Indian pipe)

Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)

Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)

Trillium sp. (trillium)

Ferns and Fern Allies:

Lycopodium digitatum. (ground cedar)

Lycopodium obscurum (princess pine)

Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)

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