Nipmuck Trail

Nipmuck Trail
Nipmuck Trail sign on CT-171 outside Bigelow Hollow State Park.
Length	34.5 miles (55.5 km)
Location	Tolland County, Connecticut, USA
Designation	CFPA Blue-Blazed Trail
Use	hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fishing, geocaching, other
Hiking details
Hazards	hunters, deer ticks, poison ivy

The Nipmuck Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" which meanders through 34.5 miles (55.5 km) of forests in northeast Connecticut. It is maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and is considered one of the Blue-Blazed hiking trails. There are two southern trail heads (two tines of a fork) in the south of the town of Mansfield, Connecticut. The southwestern terminus is at a road shoulder parking place on Puddin Lane, and the southeastern terminus is a DEEP parking lot on North Windham Road at the southeast corner of Mansfield Hollow State Park. The northern terminus is at the north end of Breakneck Pond along the Massachusetts border in Nipmuck State Forest. Camping permits may be obtained for up to five separate locations for backpacking.

For 9 miles (14 km) the Nipmuck Trail travels through the Yale-Myers Forest which is owned by Yale University. The trail also traverses 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of the University of Connecticut's East Campus (the protected Moss tract through the Fenton Forest).

Trail description

The Nipmuck Trail is primarily used for hiking, backpacking, picnicking, and in the winter, snowshoeing.

Portions of the trail are suitable for, and are used for, cross-country skiing and geocaching. Site-specific activities enjoyed along the route include bird watching, hunting (very limited), fishing, horseback riding, bouldering and rock climbing (limited).

Trail communities

The official Blue-Blazed Nipmuck Trail passes through land located within the following municipalities, from south to north:

Landscape, geology, and natural environment

Pixie Falls in Natchaug State Forest in Ashford via side trail from Nipmuck Trail.

History and folklore

The Blue-Blazed Nipmuck Trail was created by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.

Hiking the trail

The mainline trail is blazed with blue rectangles. 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

Conservation and maintenance of the trail corridor

The last week of March 2010 the Connecticut Forest and Park Association acquired the largest conservation easement in an agreement with the University of Connecticut for the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) section of the Nipmuck Trail which passes through University of Connecticut protected property (the Moss tract through the Fenton Forest). Also on that date a number of conveyances between the University of Connecticut, CFPA, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation and the towns of Willington and Mansfield secured the preservation of 531 acres (2.15 km²) of land on four forested properties near or surrounding the Nipmuck Trail.

Image gallery

Nipmuck Trail sign on CT-171 outside Bigelow Hollow State Park.  Nipmuck Trail sign on CT-171 outside Bigelow Hollow State Park.  Natchaug Trail northern trailhead at intersection with Nipmuck Trail in Ashford, CT.  Pixie Falls in Natchaug State Forest in Ashford via side trail from Nipmuck Trail.  Pixie Falls in Natchaug State Forest in Ashford via side trail from Nipmuck Trail.  Fenton River along Nipmuck Trail just north of CT Route44 (U Conn Forest).  Error creating thumbnail: File missing Fenton River along Nipmuck Trail just north of CT Route44 (U Conn Forest).  Old stone house foundations at intersection of Nipmuck Trail and forest road half way between CT Routes 44 and 74.  1' diameter fungus with peace sign on rock beside Nipmuck Trail in Yale-Myers Forest.  Yale-Myers Forest Research Site off Nipmuck Trail.  Southern Breakneck Pond on Nipmuck Trail facing north on the last day of winter.  Yale-Myers Forest Signs and northern entrance to Nipmuck Trail on Bigelow Hollow Road AKA CT Route 197 near Bigelow Hollow State Park.  Sturbridge Massachusetts end of partially frozen Breakneck Pond facing south. Northern terminus of Nipmuck Trail.  Massachusetts/Connecticut state line marker dated 1954 at northern end of Breakneck Pond facing south.  Connecticut/Massachusetts state line marker dated 1954 at northern end of Breakneck Pond facing north.

See also

• Blue-Blazed Trails
• Nipmuc
• Yale-Myers Forest

References

• Connecticut Forest & Park Association Cited September 13, 2008.

External links

Specific to this trail:

• Connecticut Explorers Guide: Nipmuck Trail Overview Map
• Connecticut Explorers Guide: Nipmuck Trail Southern Trailheads Map
• Connecticut Explorers Guide: Nipmuck Trail Southern Trails Junction to RT 74 Map
• HikeCT Nipmuck Trail page

Government Links:

• Town of Mansfield - Trail Guides
• Town of Mansfield - Schoolhouse Brook Park

Land and Conservation Trusts:

• Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust, Inc.
• Joshua's Tract/Tract Trails Walk Book
• Joshua's Tract/Trust Trail Maps

Further reading

Books – Connecticut Hiking

Books – Connecticut History and Geography