Date Of Visit: September 9, 2017
Location: Talcott Mountain State Park, Route 185, Simsbury, CT
Cost: Free
Hours: The trail to the tower is open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Hours for the museum in the tower are as follows:
Parking:
Handicapped Accessible: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Trail Size/Difficulty: 2.5 miles round trip/moderate with some sharp inclines.
Website: Friends Of Heublein Tower
Highlights: tower, scenic views,
Tips:
- There is no parking lot at the park. Parking is allowed on the side of the road at and near the trail to the tower
- Don’t forget to check out the scenic views on the way up to the tower by taking the trail closest to the ledge (the trail on the right after the trail splits
- The trail has a steep incline at the beginning but evens out and becomes easier about halfway to the tower
- If using a GPS: Parking is located on Summit Ridge Dr. Simsbury, CT 06070
Once the home of Gilbert Heublein (pronounced “High-Bline”), Heublein Tower offers some of the most pretty views in the Connecticut River Valley.
As legend has it, during a hike of Talcott Mountain with his fiance Louise M. Gundlach, he promised her that one day he would build her a castle there. He would make good on his promise in 1914 with the Heublein Tower.
Heublein manufactured such delicacies as A1 Steak Sauce and Smirnoff Vodka. Anyone else hungry for some steak and vodka? A barbecue, perhaps?
Heublein Tower is located along a trail that begins at Talcott Mountain State Park. Parking is available along the sides of the road to the tower.
Along the trail to the tower, you can take the trail on the right to see some pretty views of the Farmington River Valley. As you can also see by some of the photos, the trail does have some inclines. There are also some benches along the trail at the beginning of the trail.
During certain days you can enter the tower and view the rooms in the tower. The at times arduous hike is worth it for the views of the tower and the self guided tower of the inside of the tower.
The views from Heublein Tower are stunning.
The trails are not too hard for man nor beast. Dogs of a variety of sizes and breeds were on the trail during my visit.
Hiro is a 7 month old Cobberdog
Monte is a 2 year old Tibetan Terrier.
Kaiser is a 2 year old Airedale.
Roscoe (on the left) is a 3 year old Rottweiler. Love his bandanna!
Onyx (on the right) is a 2 year old boxer.
New England Nomad 
October 8th, 2017 at 12:22 am
Beautiful post Wayne 🙂
You should be hired by the tourism companies. You are doing such a great job showing all of us, where to go and what to see.
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October 8th, 2017 at 9:12 pm
Thank you, Irene! Thats very sweet of you!
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October 9th, 2017 at 12:28 am
I mean it Wayne. You are doing a great job to show all of us all these nice places to visit.
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October 9th, 2017 at 1:52 pm
Thank you so much, Irene! That means a lot to me!
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October 8th, 2017 at 3:35 am
I bet there’s a lot more people than you might imagine whose diet is based on steak and vodka! Lovely Airedale!
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October 8th, 2017 at 9:10 pm
Yes you’re right on both counts! 😁
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October 8th, 2017 at 8:43 am
What an amazing home!
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October 8th, 2017 at 9:09 pm
It is beautiful! I think i am pretty sure i could live there! Thank you, Adrienne!
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December 27th, 2017 at 8:40 pm
Does anyone know why there is no longer a beacon at the top of the tower? I used to be able to see it at night from home.
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December 28th, 2017 at 10:04 pm
Hi Laurel, I sent a message to the Friends of Heublein Tower about the beacon. I will update my comment when and if I hear back from them.
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December 29th, 2017 at 11:20 am
Thanks for replying, I kind of miss seeing that red blinking light at night.
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December 29th, 2017 at 3:35 pm
I would like to see the beacon blinking as well! I will post any updates when I receive them.
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