Mattatuck State Forest OHV Trails

Mattatuck State Forest is a 4,000-acre CT DEEP-managed state forest in Litchfield County, split between the towns of Thomaston, Plymouth, Waterbury, and Watertown in the Naugatuck River watershed of western Connecticut, the Berkshire foothills region where the state's terrain is most varied and most topographically interesting for OHV riding. Within the forest, CT DEEP designates OHV trails on forest roads and purpose-built routes that represent some of the most accessible public-land ATV riding in Connecticut, a state where public-land OHV access is more restricted than in neighboring Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or the mid-Atlantic states. The terrain reflects the Berkshire foothills geology: metamorphic bedrock produces the rocky, rugged trail surface that characterizes the northwest Connecticut hill country, with forested ridges, glacially scoured valley bottoms, and the mixed hardwood forest of sugar maple, oak, and birch typical of the lower Berkshires. The Naugatuck watershed setting means trail corridors frequently cross or parallel the streams draining toward the Naugatuck River, stream crossings and wet trail sections are characteristic of the riding experience, particularly in spring and after significant rain. ATVs and registered dirt bikes are the permitted machine classes; full-size UTVs should confirm current width restrictions with DEEP. Connecticut requires ATV registration for all riders on state land; out-of-state machines must display their home-state registration decal. The CT DEEP Mattatuck State Forest office (860-485-0226) handles current trail status.