The Hancock Brook Trail is primarily used for hiking, backpacking, rock climbing,[3] and in the winter, snowshoeing.

There is ATV and dirt bike (motocross) use on the trail in violation of the prohibition on state forest lands.

The loop on the trail can be reached by a straight east-west spur from a small parking area at the end of Sheffield Street.

The official Blue-Blazed Hancock Brook Trail is entirely located within the Waterville section of the city of Waterbury in New Haven County.

Construction of the new railroad line began in 1907, because of treacherous turns and a tragic grade at the Pequabuck section of Plymouth, CT.

The main focus was the Sullivan hill tunnel, while the remaining sections of the line in Hancock where straightened.

Trail descriptions are available from a number of commercial and non-commercial sources, and a complete guidebook is published by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association

The eastern section of the trail is usually high enough on the western bank of Hancock Brook that flooding is a rare event.

Extensive flooding in ponds, puddles and streams may occur in the late winter or early spring, overflowing into the trail and causing very muddy conditions.

Some parts of the trail follow forest roads which often contain a lot of loose stones or ruts from ATVs and four-wheel drive vehicles.