Yes I have hiked in the past year....

Ok, so it took me some time to write another post about our hiking adventures, and I will start with the most recent and go backwards.

This past weekend we went hiking at Devil's Hopyard in East Haddam, CT.

 

Short Blurb from http://www.stateparks.com/devils_hopyard.html  "A search for the origin of the name "Devil's Hopyard" reveals a wide variety of different stories; none of them are verifiable and all are likely to be more fiction than fact. One of the most popular of these stories is about a man named Dibble, who had a garden for growing hops used in the brewing of beer. It seems that through usage, Dibble's Hopyard became Devil's Hopyard. There are records of several farmers having hopyards in the area, but there is no mention of a landowner named Dibble."

It was a great hike filled with lots of things to see and keep the interest of two active boys,

one who really does not like long hikes. Caves, waterfalls, ledges, a covered bridge, stone tunnel, and hemlock groves, along with great views through out this one short hike.
 

 

Here we are at the Devils Oven (Cave) Off of the Orange Trail

 

 

 A Beautiful Covered bridge down stream from The Falls which is a great starting point for two shorter hikes, the Orange Trail and the smaller Blue Trail, both are loop trails which makes it a nice trip.

 

 

 

There were Great Water Falls, that can be viewed from both sides with a walkway bridge above them. I guess we are lucky to see them with water, many people commented how there is never water when they visit.

 

 

A great tunnel with stalactites forming inside.

 

Our kids also saw the results of a Brush Fire, and how many of the trees were damaged, while some trees in the same area were untouched.  A great teachable moment. Read about the brush fire at link below.

 

We hiked almost 3miles and saw many great things, had all sorts of hiking levels, from hands &  knees, uphill to slow down near a rambling stream.  I would recommend this hike to anyone with kids or a dog (by the way our 10 month old beagle did great on this hike).  Parking was free, the park was easy to find, and after noon it did get busy. If you are looking for  Below are some links that I tought might be helpful in planning your own adventure to Devil's Hopyard.

 

 

 

 Read about the fire here - http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/middlesex_cty/brush-fire-devils-hopyard-state-park

Great link to find the park and read about its history - State of CT Site http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325188#activities

Here is a link to the trail map http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/devilshopyard.pdf

 

 

Gillette Castle State Park

Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, CT

Today we hiked a trail around the Gillette Castle. It was a good hike with the kids. They really enjoyed the walk to the Connecticut River around the the Castle and then around the gardens and property. There was a great Frog pond with thousands of Lilly Pads, and 80% of the pads had frogs sunning themselves.

The Castle it self is an extra fee to go in, but had amazing history and a very unique story behind it, click here for the story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillette_Castle_State_Park

We were able to bring our picnic lunch and enjoy a sunny afternoon overlooking the CT River. There was a snack bar that was open, and a public restroom (thank goodness).

http://www.ctrivervalley.com/4-Connecticut-CT-in-of/Major-attractions-in-CT/gillette_castle_state_park/index.html

The Boys with a view of the Connecticut River Behind them,

sometimes you could see the ferry boat crossing or the

river cruise pointing up to the Castle.

 

One of many stone bridges that were built for the small railroad

that circled William Gillette's Property.

 

The Boys at the Frog Pond

 

One of many great views of the Castle Walls