The Nipmuck Trail is a '' Blue-Blazed''

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail system which meanders through of forests in northeast

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. 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 Mansfield is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 25,892 at the 2020 census. Pequot and Mohegan people lived in this region for centuries before the arrival of English settler-immigrants in the late 17th cent ...

. The southwestern terminus is at a road shoulder parking place on Puddin Lane, and the southeastern terminus is a

DEEP Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), C ...

parking lot on North Windham Road at the southeast corner of

Mansfield Hollow State Park Mansfield Hollow State Park is a public recreation area occupying of leased lands on the western shore of Mansfield Hollow Lake in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield, Connecticut. The state park is one portion of th ...

. The northern terminus is at the north end of

Breakneck Pond Breakneck Pond is a lake surrounded by the Nipmuck State Forest in Union, Connecticut. A small portion of the lake extends into Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The maximum depth of the lake is 12'. The entire lake shore is undeveloped and motoriz ...

along the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

border in

Nipmuck State Forest Nipmuck State Forest is a Connecticut state forest. Its surround Bigelow Hollow State Park in the town of Union and include parcels in Stafford, Ashford, and other towns. The forest is part of a larger network of forest lands making up some ...

. Camping permits may be obtained for up to five separate locations for backpacking. For the Nipmuck Trail travels through the

Yale-Myers Forest The Yale-Myers Forest is a 7,800-acre (32 km2) forest in Northeastern Connecticut owned by Yale University and administered by the Yale School of the Environment. Located in the towns of Union, Ashford, Eastford, and Woodstock, the forest i ...

which is owned by

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. The trail also traverses of the University of Connecticut's East Campus (the protected Moss tract through the Fenton Forest). For about 6 miles, the trail follows the

Fenton River 300px, Fenton River along the Nipmuck Trail just north of CT Route 44 (UConn Forest) The Fenton River is a major water source for the University of Connecticut that runs through Mansfield, Storrs, and Willington, as well as small parts of W ...

from the University of Connecticut to Mansfield Hollow State Park. The Daily Campus April 1, 2010: UConn helps to preserve local forest
/ref>UConn Today March 30, 2010: Deal Between Conservation Organizations, UConn, and Area Towns Protects 531 Acres in Eastern CT
/ref>The Day March 28, 2010: Agreement protects forest, trails near UConn
/ref>

Trail description

The Nipmuck Trail is primarily used for

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

, picnicking, and in the winter, snowshoeing. Portions of the trail are suitable for, and are used for,

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

and

geocaching Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific l ...

. Site-specific activities enjoyed along the route include bird watching,

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

(very limited),

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, horseback riding, bouldering and

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

(limited). 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

Historic sites

There is a historic gristmill near the trail in

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,344 at the 2010 Unite ...

. Across from this is the house where Wilbur Cross was born. A segment of the trail in Ashford follows the

Old Connecticut Path The Old Connecticut Path was the Native American trail that led westward from the area of Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut River Valley, the first of the North American trails that led west from the settlements close to the Atlantic seacoast, ...

, a former Native American trail connecting the

Boston area Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

with the Connecticut River Valley.

History

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

Maintenance

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 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 of land on four forested properties near or surrounding the Nipmuck Trail.

Gallery

File:CFPANipmuckTrailsignonBigelowHollowRoadAKACTRoute197nearBigelowHollowStatePark.jpg, Nipmuck Trail sign on CT-171 outside Bigelow Hollow State Park. File:NipmuckTrailSignOnCT-171OutsideBigelowHollowStatePark.jpg, Nipmuck Trail sign on CT-171 outside Bigelow Hollow State Park. File:Natchaug+NipmuckTrailsIntersectionHDR.jpg, alt=Natchaug northern trailead and intersection with Nipmuck Trail, Eastford, Connecticut., Natchaug Trail northern trailhead at intersection with Nipmuck Trail in Ashford, CT. File:Nipmuck Trail, Mansfield Hollow Park.jpg, The trail in the

. File:PixieFallsOffNipmuckTrail.jpg, Pixie Falls in Natchaug State Forest in Ashford via side trail from Nipmuck Trail. File:PixieFallsOffNipmuckTrail2.jpg, Pixie Falls in Natchaug State Forest in Ashford via side trail from Nipmuck Trail. File:FentonRiveralongNipmuckTrailjustnorthofCTRoute44-1.jpg, alt=FentonRiveralongNipmuckTrailjustnorthofCTRoute44-1, Fenton River along Nipmuck Trail just north of CT Route44 (U Conn Forest). File:FentonRiveralongNipmuckTrailjustnorthofCTRoute44-2.jpg, alt=FentonRiveralongNipmuckTrailjustnorthofCTRoute44-2, Fenton River along Nipmuck Trail just north of CT Route44 (U Conn Forest). File:NipmuckTrailStoneFoundationRuins.jpg, alt=NipmuckTrailStoneFoundationRuins, Old stone house foundations at intersection of Nipmuck Trail and forest road half way between CT Routes 44 and 74. File:NipmuckTrailFungusWithPeaceSign.jpg, alt=NipmuckTrailFungusWithPeaceSign, 1' diameter fungus with peace sign on rock beside Nipmuck Trail in Yale-Myers Forest. File:Yale-MyersForestResearchTreeLot.jpg, alt=Yale-MyersForestResearchTreeLot, Yale-Myers Forest Research Site off Nipmuck Trail. File:SouthernBreakneckPondonNipmuckTrailfacingnorth.jpg, alt=SouthernBreakneckPondonNipmuckTrailfacingnorth, Southern Breakneck Pond on Nipmuck Trail facing north on the last day of winter. File:Yale-MyersForestSignsAtNipmuckTrailNorthEntrance.jpg, alt=Yale-MyersForestSignsAtNipmuckTrailNorthEntrance, Yale-Myers Forest Signs and northern entrance to Nipmuck Trail on Bigelow Hollow Road AKA CT Route 197 near Bigelow Hollow State Park. File:NorthernEndOfBreakneckPondfacingsouth.jpg, alt=NorthernEndOfBreakneckPondfacingsouth, Sturbridge Massachusetts end of partially frozen Breakneck Pond facing south. Northern terminus of Nipmuck Trail. File:MassachusettsConnecticutstatelinemarkerdated1954atnorthernendofBreakneckPondfacingsouth.jpg, alt=MassachusettsConnecticutstatelinemarkerdated1954atnorthernendofBreakneckPondfacingsouth, Massachusetts/Connecticut state line marker dated 1954 at northern end of Breakneck Pond facing south. File:ConnecticutMassachusettsstatelinemarkerdated1954atnorthernendofBreakneckPondfacingnorth.jpg, alt=ConnecticutMassachusettsstatelinemarkerdated1954atnorthernendofBreakneckPondfacingnorth, Connecticut/Massachusetts state line marker dated 1954 at northern end of Breakneck Pond facing north.

References

Connecticut Forest & Park Association
Cited September 13, 2008.

External links

Specific to this trail:

* ttp://www.ctxguide.com/nipmuck_003.htm Connecticut Explorers Guide: Nipmuck Trail Southern Trails Junction to RT 74 Map 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.

{{Protected areas of Connecticut Hiking trails in Connecticut Protected areas of Tolland County, Connecticut Mansfield, Connecticut Blue-Blazed Trails