Gillette Castle Trail Map

The official Gillette Castle State Park trail map is DEEP's, dated June 26, 2020, and covers the park in East Haddam and Lyme. It shows six blazed trails: Purple (the Train Trail) 1.14 miles, Orange 0.67, Yellow 0.65, Red 0.49, White 0.49 and Blue 0.34, about 3.8 miles in all. DEEP publishes it as a printable PDF and a mobile version, and notes that the trails are for foot travel only.

Download the Map

• DEEP trail map (PDF)
• DEEP trail map, mobile version

The Friends of Gillette Castle State Park also post a Hiking and History Map that adds stories about Gillette's estate on top of DEEP's map.

Trail Lengths

• Purple (Train Trail): 1.14
• Orange: 0.67
• Yellow: 0.65
• Red: 0.49
• White: 0.49
• Blue: 0.34

DEEP's featured walk, the Train Trail to the Blue Trail, is about 1.5 miles (hiking).

What the Map Marks

Beyond the trails, the legend includes:

• Gillette Castle and the park office.
• Grand Central Station, Gillette's railroad station, now a picnic shelter, and other picnic areas (plan your visit).
• The tunnel on the Train Trail (train trail).
• Footbridges, bridges and a symbol for a closed bridge.
• The Osaki House and the Aunt Polly wreck (Aunt Polly).
• The Chester/Hadlyme Ferry landing (ferry) and a car-top launch for canoes and kayaks (kayaking).
• Scenic views, benches, bathrooms, paved and gravel parking, paved and gravel roads, and unblazed trails.

Reading the Map

The park sits on the east bank of the Connecticut River. Hennock Valley Road and Bone Mill Road appear on the map's edges. DEEP notes that state property boundaries on the map are approximate, so stay on marked trails near the edges of the park. The closed-bridge symbol matters: if the map or a posted sign shows a bridge closed, use another route.

Map Tips

• Download the mobile PDF before you go.
• The map is from 2020. If a sign on the ground disagrees with it, follow the sign.
• Mileage on DEEP's map is per trail; add segments for loops.