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Roosevelt Forest Bouldering

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Roosevelt Forest

Blue Trail Boulder 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

North Peters Boulder 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Red Trail North 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Red Trail South 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Elevation:	166 ft
GPS:	41.25306, -73.12891 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	2,193 total · 138/month
Shared By:	Sam Weiss on Nov 22, 2021
Admins:	Morgan Patterson Page Updates (admin only)

Access Issue: Parking lot for Stratford residents only Details

The parking lots are restricted to Stratford residents with a town windshield sticker. Either carpool with a Stratford resident or find parking elsewhere and hike in. Be mindful of where you park because the forest is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. Possible parking spots are:

1. The cul-de-sac at the end of Pumpkin Ground Road. The Blue Trail is marked by the Roosevelt Forest sign. The south end of the Red Trail can be accessed from the Blue Trail 0.35 miles in.
2. The end of Roosevelt Forest Drive (a side street off Beaver Dam Road). Take the trail marked by the Roosevelt Forest sign. This leads to an intersection with the Orange Trail, which you can take north to the Blue Trail or south to the Red Trail.
3. The empty cul-de-sac at the north end of Beaver Dam Road. Take the Blue Trail midway up the road marked by the Roosevelt Forest sign and metal gate. Alternatively, head into the woods north of the cul-de-sac and try to find the unmarked Fox Trail, if you're feeling adventurous.

Description

Roosevelt Forest is in northern Stratford, CT just south of the Shelton border. It is a 400 acre mixed deciduous forest with some wetlands. Around the parking lot is a pond, picnic tables, gazebo, and off-limits Police shooting range. A dog park was opened just south of the main parking lot in August 2020. Several trails provide for some pleasant hiking and easy access to most of the boulders. Scout campgrounds feature lean-tos, but overnight camping is not permitted.

Climbing at Roosevelt consists of several boulders scattered around the forest. Due to the size of the park, every boulder can be approached from the parking lot in under a mile. While the quality of the boulders are mostly not the best CT has to offer, it is still worth a visit if you are looking for problems in the beginning to intermediate grade range. The main rock type is formally known as the Pumpkin Ground Member of Harrison (Prospect) Gneiss. This medium to light gray, medium to coarse grained Gneiss is often too featureless to climb except for some unhelpful knobs. However, occasional cracks and small ledges make for some interesting problems. As of 2021, there is no apparent information available online about who has climbed here before. Temporary names will be given to locations and problems until someone can claim to know the history. Please contact the page author or admin if you have any details to share about the climbing history so that proper credit may be given!

Visit rooseveltforest.info for more information on the forest itself.

Getting There

Main lot (CT-15):
Take exit 53. Turn south onto Main Street. Continue straight and stay right at the fork with River Road to remain on Main Street. Turn right onto Chapel Street and follow the road to a 3-way intersection. Make a slight right onto James Farm Road. Follow James Farm road past two bends until you see a small sign on the left for Roosevelt Forest. Turn slightly left onto the narrow road, Peters Lane, at the left of the sign. Follow the road until an intersection, then turn right to stay on Peters Lane. Follow the road all the way to the end to get to the main parking lot.

Route 8 N:
Take exit 11. Turn right onto Huntington Road.

Route 8 S:
Take exit 11. Turn left onto Bridgeport Avenue. Follow the road until the 4-way intersection and take a left onto Huntington Road.

Main lot:
Follow Huntington Road until the 4-way intersection after the overpass. Turn left onto Tavern Rock Road. Follow the road to the end and turn right onto Cutspring Road. Continue until Chapel Street and turn left onto it. Follow Chapel street until the 3-way intersection. Make a left onto James Farm Road. Follow James Farm road past two bends until you see a small sign on the left for Roosevelt Forest. Turn slightly left onto the narrow road, Peters Lane, at the left of the sign. Follow the road until an intersection, then turn right to stay on Peters Lane. Follow the road all the way to the end to get to the main parking lot.

Pumpkin Ground Rd.:
Follow Huntington Road until the 4-way intersection after the overpass. Turn left onto Tavern Rock Road. Follow the road to the end and turn left onto Cutspring Road. Follow the road until just after an overpass. Take a slight left onto Pumpkin Ground Road and park in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street.

Beaver Dam Rd.:
Continue until Beaver Dam Road and turn left onto it. Park in the cul-de-sac at the end.

Roosevelt Forest Dr.:
Follow the directions for Beaver Dam Road, but take a right onto Roosevelt Forest Drive at the end.