August 25, 2024 – Bolton, Connecticut

Difficulty: Moderate

Length: Approximately 3 miles

Max elevation: 811 ft. – total elevation gain approximately 400 ft.

Map: Bolton Notch State Park Trail Map

Parking: Bolton Notch State Park Access Road, Bolton, CT 06043

Paved parking lot – Portable toilet on site

Hours: Open Daily, 8:00am – Sunset

There are no admission or parking fees at this park.

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Park Overview:

Bolton Notch State Park is located about 15 miles east of Hartford, Connecticut and offers visitors a wide range of recreational activities. The park is home to several picturesque hiking trails, including the Hop River Trail, Shenipsit Trail, and the Mohegan Trail which winds through the forested hills of the park. Spread out over 95 acres, the state park serves as a nice day trip for locals as well as visitors.

Bolton Notch State Park is a recreational hub that connects the north central and eastern parts of Connecticut for hikers, walkers, cyclists and runners. From the park, there is access to the Shenipsit Trail, Charter Oak Greenway, Hop River Trail, Freja Park, Valley Falls Park, and Box Mountain Forest.

The park is home to several unique points of interest, including an 800-ft, abandoned railroad tunnel, Squaw Cave and Flag Rock.

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History:

Bolton was originally part of the hunting grounds of the Podunk Indians. The Podunks lived in what is now East Hartford and South Windsor, along the Podunk River. Most early historians agree that Bolton Notch was the boundary between the Podunk territory to the west and the Mohegan territory to the east. The Indians called it Saqumsketuck, which means land or place at the hard rock.

The Hop River Trail that runs through Bolton from Valley Falls Park to Willimantic is an old railroad bed. From 1849 to the mid-1950’s the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad traveled through this corridor. It brought prosperity to Bolton’s slate and grindstone quarries at the Notch. The rock was first quarried during the War of 1812, and throughout the 19th century was sent to major cities in the Northeast to pave streets.

Freight trains used the line throughout the 1960’s. The last train ran on September 29, 1970, by which time the line was part of the bankrupt Penn Central.

The railroad had a yard and a station at the Notch where stone, lumber, hay, grain, etc., was loaded and unloaded. If you walk the trail, you’ll see remnants of ties and telegraph poles.

The State of Connecticut purchased the first 70 acres from the estate of Albert H. Pitkin in 1918, for development of a Wayside Park.

Squaw Cave:

According to legend, A Dutch cabin boy named Peter Hager was part of a trading party with the local Podunk Nation. He fell in love with a local woman, Wunnee-Neetunah, and they got married in the way of her nation. When Peter tried to return to his trading party, he was rejected and the couple spent their exile together in the cave.

Wunnee-Neetunah (also called Wunnee), was the daughter of a Podunk Chief named Tantonimoh. Her family adopted Peter Hager, the cabin boy of a Dutch trader named Captain May. After Peter fell in love with Wunnee, the Captain encouraged him to live among the Podunks to learn their language and customs.

After a few years, Peter and Wunnee traveled to Boston with Wunnee’s mother to get married, but learned that there was a law against intermarriage. While they stayed outside the city, Peter was seen gathering wood on the Sabbath and was arrested and whipped. Before he was imprisoned, Wunnee and her mother rescued Peter and they fled back to Connecticut. Along the way, they were attacked, presumably by Massachusetts colonists, and one died in the fight. Peter was accused of killing the man. Peter and Wunnee did not return to Wunnee’s home, but were married in another Podunk community in Connecticut. Bailiffs from Boston were sent to capture or kill Peter, but the Podunks warned Peter and Wunnee.

As they sought safety from the bailiffs and other groups attacking the Podunks, Peter and Wunnee moved farther east to a cave on the south side of a rocky mountain known as Wiashguagwumsuck. After about 30 years, Peter and Wunnee planned to move north to a settlement in an area without European colonists or hostile native groups. However, a group of Mohegan men found Peter, the outlaw, living with his Indian wife in the cave. The Mohegans reported them to the local bailiffs who shot Peter. He reached the cave, and Wunnee was sent in after him. They remained in the cave for a few days, and when when the bailiffs went into the cave, they found it empty. Wunnee had either snuck out the cave entrance with Peter’s body or found a deeper passage in the cave through the mountain. Peter was reportedly buried in the royal burying ground of the Podunk Tribe, and Wunnee was reportedly taken in by a Windsor couple and was reportedly buried in Windsor.

It is unknown how much of the legend is truth or fiction.

The Bolton Board of Selectmen felt that “Squaw Cave” was a derogatory name and decided to change the name to Wunnee-Neetunah Cave in 2023.

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Parking:

At the junction of Route 44 and Route 6 in Bolton. Heading west on I-384 from Bolton Notch, turn right at the end of the guardrail and go downhill to the parking lot.

Bolton Notch State Park is located off the west-bound lane of I-384 about 1/3 of a mile from the beginning of I-384 (at the junction of US-6 and US-44). Although there is a sign at the entrance it is difficult to spot and not advertised in advance. It is a sharp right turn into the parking lot and in case of fast moving traffic, it is advised that visitors park in the Bolton Park & Ride Lot, which is 0.4 mile west. The main area of the park can be safely accessed from the commuter parking lot via the Charter Oak Greenway Trail, a short five minute walk to the main section of the park.

The sign below is not visible until you get to the turn. The Charter Oak Greenway, the paved path behind the sign, connects the commuter parking lot with the parking area of the park.

The parking lot has room for about 18 vehicles. When I arrived at the trailhead at approximately 9am, I got the last remaining spot. Upon completion of the hike (image below) the lot was still full and there were a few vehicles waiting for a spot to park as others left.

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Trails Overview:

There are approximately five miles of trails in the park, from easy to moderate level. The Charter Oak Greenway, Hop River State Park Trail and the Shenipsit Trail can be used to access adjoining public lands.

The marked trails that were used on this hike, are fairly well blazed and easy to follow.

The “Cave Trail,” so named for the purpose of this writing, is somewhat overgrown, but discernible if you know where to look. The Mohegan Trail is well shaded.

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Hike Overview:

This hike pertains to the southern section of the park only. Utilizing the Hop River State Park Trail, Cave Trail (unmarked), Garnet Trail and the Mohegan Trail.

The hike was done counterclockwise once on the Mohegan Trail.

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The Hike:

From the parking lot, turn right on the Hop River Trail and head east, past a fitness station and interpretive signage that explains some of the site’s history.

In a short distance, you’ll arrive at the western portal of the old train tunnel. Do not enter the tunnel. Instead turn left by the opening and follow the unmarked path.

The Cave Trail begins between the western portal and a large boulder. Follow this narrow and somewhat overgrown footpath as it bears to the right and rises alongside the tunnel.

When you reach the guard rail, walk alongside it until you reach the end of the guard rail.

Look for this pole and follow this faint footpath steeply uphill for a short distance as it bends to the right.

The cave will appear as you approach the cliff. I would advise those who want to enter the cave to bring a headlamp or a flashlight. It is quite dark in there and you may want to shine a light inside to make sure that there are no critters lurking around inside.

Wunnee-Neetunah Cave is a true cave, meaning it was caused by water erosion of Limestone.

The cave consists of a 10 foot chamber, followed by a 3 foot wide tunnel that continues for roughly 40 feet before narrowing to a point that is unsafe to pass through, but continues for an unknown number of feet to a second chamber containing running water.

The ceiling of the cave may have some spiders.

When you are done exploring this unique historical feature, retrace your steps along the Cave Trail, back to the west portal of the tunnel.

I did an out-and-back through the tunnel just to check it out. The tunnel is curved, so the other side sometimes cannot be seen clearly by those entering. Exercise caution when walking through the dark tunnel.

With tracks laid and rocks blasted out in the mid-1800’s for a rail line, the 30-foot tall, 800-foot-long tunnel was built in 1955 due to the above construction of a complicated interchange as I-384 transitions to Route 6 and Route 44.

The Bolton Tunnel is part of the Hop River State Park Trail, a former railroad line. This trail winds 24.8 miles through the towns of Manchester, Vernon, Bolton, Coventry, Andover, Columbia, and Windham. The Hop River Trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a bicycle and pedestrian pathway that winds through 15 states and 450 communities, spanning 3,000 miles from Florida to Maine.

At the eastern end of the tunnel, I turned around and walked back through it, heading west.

Now retracing my steps, I walked past the parking area for a short distance to pick up the joint Mohegan/Garnet trails which is on the right.

I followed the yellow/red blazes a short distance until the two trails split.

The yellow-blazed Mohegan Trail turns left, but I continued straight on the Red Trail. I would come back to this junction a short while later after visiting Flag Rock.

The Red Trail forks left, but either way that you go will lead you to Flag Rock. I took the left fork to Flag Rock and returned on the right fork.

In a short distance, the red-blazed Garnet Trail dead ends at a rock outcrop that is covered in graffiti.

If you walk up to the high point of the rock outcrop (far left in the image below), you will get a view southwest over I-384 and the surrounding area.

This view is more extensive during leaf-off season.

If you walk along the rock outcrop as it descends, there is a path that leads to the front of Flag Rock that provides a nice view of this feature. You may want to take a break in this area, just watch out for broken glass.

For perspective, the image below is of me standing on Flag Rock (at the viewpoint). Flag Rock was painted shortly after September 11, 2001 and has been maintained by unknown persons since that time.

When you are ready to continue, descend back to the Red Trail, which is a short distance down the hill.

When you return to the junction with the yellow-blazed Mohegan Trail, turn right.

The Mohegan Trail does a big loop around the southern section of the park. Hiking counter-clockwise, the trail climbs the hill on a moderate grade. The Mohegan Trail does not climb to the summit, but just below it. Once reaching the height of land, the trail descends gradually through the lush green forest.

The Mohegan trail, is rumored to be haunted by the Sachem of the Rhode Island Narrangassett Tribe, Miantonomoh, who was executed by the Mohegan Tribe after the Battle of The Great Plains in 1644. The body of Miantonomoh, with a hatchet buried in the back of his head, was never found and it is said that his spirit still wanders alone and lost along the Mohegan trails through Bolton.

This trail doesn’t seem to get a lot of foot traffic. I blew through a countless amount of spiderwebs with my face.

After about 1.3 miles, the trail makes a hard right turn onto a woods road. This junction is not well marked. If you come to a concrete highway barrier, you went too far.

In a few feet, the Yellow Trail veers left, leaving the woods road and descends to its terminus at the Hop River Trail.

When you reach the Hop River Trail, turn left and walk past the yellow vehicle barriers, heading east. You are now on the Hop River Trail.

This last stretch of the hike makes for a pleasant walk on the smooth surface of the trail.

The Hop River Trail passes through deep rock cuts and depending on the weather, you will see a lot of walkers, cyclists and runners throughout this section.

In about 0.3 mile (from the yellow vehicle barriers), the Hop River Trail will leave you right back at the parking area, where the hike began.

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Review:

This was a great hike. The points of interest are enough to warrant an hour and forty minute ride from the Tappan Zee Bridge. Aside from the Hop River Trail, I did not see anyone else on the other trails. I definitely recommend this moderate loop hike for those that are seeking something out of the ordinary.

Pros:

Wunnee-Neetunah Cave, Flag Rock, Bolton Tunnel, well marked trails, not much foot traffic in the interior of the park.

Cons:

Signage is inadequate at the entrance to the park, road noise can be heard pretty much throughout the hike.

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Take a hike!

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