Hiking up to the Heublein Tower in Simsbury, Connecticut

The Heublein Tower was built by the food manufacturer Gilbert Heublein in 1914 in what is now the Talcott State Park in Simsbury, Connecticut. Heublein was a food magnate in Connecticut during the late nineteenth century, best known for his steak sauce and alcoholic beverages. Gilbert’s father Andrew began a restaurant in 1862 in Hartford, Connecticut, which eventually led to the manufacturing and distribution of food products. Ready-made cocktails sold in grocery stores proved to be a huge success from 1890 onward; in 1906 Heublein acquired distribution rights and then manufacturing rights to the popular A1 Steak Sauce. As a company, it remained in operation for 120 years until its assets were purchased by R. J. Reynolds.

The Heublein Tower is accessible through hiking trails and the Metacomet trail off of Route 10 in Simsbury, Connecticut. The tower is 165 feet tall, built to withstand high winds, and borrows an architecture style common in Bavaria, Germany where Andrew Heublein was originally from. Considering the chosen location, the tower was the ideal summer home for Heublein and his family.

The Heublein Tower is a historical landmark in the state of Connecticut and is flanked by gardens, picnic areas, and a magnificent view one thousand feet above the Farmington Valley. Wide steps lead up to the house which is surrounded by a low brick wall.

Part of the Heublein Tower’s appeal is its location on Talcott Mountain, a beautiful emerald green mountain in the spring and summer, and jewel-colored in the fall when the foliage changed color. Talcott Mountain is a state park in Connecticut and contained all the typical accommodations of a national park: hiking, picnicking, scenic views, and best of all, free admission.

Having hiked up the Metacomet Trail in 2002 just to view the famous tower, it was a sunny spring morning as I traversed the winding trail up the mountainside after parking in the parking lot off of Route 10 north in Simsbury. The trail is about a mile long, not too rugged but a hearty walk up to the tower nonetheless. Getting closer to the top of the mountain, the Heublein Tower becomes more visible. At the top, a stone wall surrounds the tower, complete with a colorful butterfly garden and a number of Monarch butterflies flying about a group of zinnias.
Standing on the east side of the tower where the trail is located on top of the mountain, the view of Simsbury, West Hartford, and on a clear day, Hartford and Windsor, is quite spectacular.

As part of the Talcott Mountain Park, the Heublein Tower is a must see for anyone who enjoys hiking in the woods of Connecticut and enjoys viewing state historical buildings. The best time of the year to hike up to the tower is in late spring through the early fall.