Hike Location: Chatfield Hollow State Park
Geographic Location: west of Killingworth, CT (41.36946, -72.58882)
Length: 4 miles
Difficulty: 9/10 (Difficult)
Date Hiked: August 2019
Overview: A loop hike, mostly moderate but with occasional
rock scrambling, exploring Chatfield Hollow.
Park Information: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Parks/Chatfield-Hollow-State-Park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=760709
Photo Highlight:
Directions to the trailhead: From the SR 80/SR 81
rotary in Killingworth, drive SR 80 west 1.2 miles to the park entrance on the
right. Turn right to enter the park, and
follow the main park road 0.3 miles to the swimming area parking, where this hike
begins. Note that this park charges a
$15 entrance fee for non-Connecticut residents on weekends but no entrance fee
on weekdays; time your visit accordingly.
The hike: Tucked
in one of the many steep-sided gorges that run north-south across south-central
Connecticut, Chatfield Hollow State Park protects 412 acres in and along its
namesake hollow. Development of the park
began in 1934 when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) dammed Chatfield
Hollow Brook to create 7 acre Schreeder Pond and planted some pine trees around
the pond. The land was designated as a
state park in 1949, and Schreeder Pond still serves as the park’s swimming and
fishing areas today. Indeed, Chatfield
Hollow State Park has been designated a trout park due to the high quality of
its fishing opportunities.
The park, hollow, and brook get
their names from the descendants of three Chatfield brothers who built a
gristmill on this brook during Colonial times.
Before the Chatfields arrived, earlier people left behind artifacts in some shallow rocky caves located
near the park entrance. This hike does
not take you to these caves, but they can be accessed via the 0.25 mile Chimney
Trail that could be added on to this hike.
The park retains a rustic character,
as it offers only the aforementioned swimming area, some picnic tables, and a
small nature center for amenities. For
hikers, the park offers 9 trails totaling over 6 miles. Many routes through the park’s trail system are
possible, but the route described here forms a grand tour of the park that
explores both the tranquil, flat streamside areas and the rocky, steep hollow
rim areas.
 |
| Red Trail exiting swimming area |
From the swimming area, pick up the
Red Trail as it heads east and immediately begins climbing a long series of
wooden steps. Trails at Chatfield Hollow
are marked with color-coded rectangular paint blazes, and some of these trails
see sufficiently little traffic that the blazes come in handy to help you find
your way. The hollow’s rim is only about
200 vertical feet above the brook, but all trails in and out of the hollow are
quite steep, as you quickly learn on this initial climb.
At 0.25 miles, you reach the
hollow’s rim as a spur trail exits right to the White Trail, which in turn leads
to adjacent Cockaponset State Forest. Stay
with the Red Trail as it curves left to head north along the hollow’s rim. The rim area features a lot of boulders, and
the shallow rocky soil supports only some stunted pine trees and a thick
understory of shrubs and grass.
 |
| Climbing toward the hollow's rim |
The Red Trail undulates gently as it
heads north with the deep and steep hollow to your left. Near 0.5 miles, the trail treads atop a sheer
rock cliff that would give nice views into the hollow during the leafless
months. All of the rock ledges at
Chatfield Hollow are made of a gray metamorphic rock called Monson gneiss, and
the rock’s odd color gives the area a distinctive look.
 |
| Top of a sheer rock ledge |
The going on the hollow rim is
fairly easy, but when the trail dips under the cliff line the treadway becomes
rough and boulder-strewn. You may need
to use your hands to keep your balance while clambering over the boulders. Just shy of 1 mile, Chatfield Hollow Brook
comes into view as the Purple Trail enters from the left. Soon you reach a red covered bridge that
spans the brook. Do not cross the bridge
now, but instead remain on the Red Trail as it stays on the east bank of the
brook.
|
| Covered bridge |
At 1.3 miles, the Red Trail ends at
a small pond created by a stone dam with a waterwheel. Some sunny picnic tables make nice places to
sit, but a parking lot across the pond ensures you will not be alone here. After enjoying this area’s tranquility, walk
around the pond to reach the parking lot.
 |
| Pond at end of Red Trail |
My plan for continuing this hike was
to pick up the Orange Trail at the west side of this parking lot, but I could
not find the Orange Trail. In hindsight,
I looked for the Orange Trail in the wrong spot: I should have looked in a small
cul de sac just north of the parking lot.
As an improvised route, I turned left on the park road that serves the
parking lot and walked down the road to the covered bridge you passed
earlier. I then crossed the covered
bridge and hiked the Purple Trail, the blazes of which are a very light shade
of purple. The Purple Trail offers a
flat but somewhat rocky course along Chatfield Hollow Brook. Some nice beech trees live along the brook,
and this improvised route turned out to be quite pleasant.
 |
| Hiking along Chatfield Hollow Brook |
At 1.75 miles, the Purple Trail
comes out at a picnic area beside the brook and the park road. Wanting to get back on my intended course, I
crossed the brook via the park road’s bridge and picked up the signed West Crest
Trail, which is marked with blue rectangular paint blazes. True to its name, the West Crest Trail climbs
out of the west side of Chatfield Hollow.
The climb is gradual at first, but the grade becomes steep and rocky
before you reach the hollow’s rim.
Ignore an unmarked trail that exits left
before reaching a junction with the Orange Trail at 2.1 miles. Turn left to begin heading south on the
Orange Trail. This part of the Orange
Trail offers a comparatively flat and easy trek, and some old stone walls
indicate this land has been farmed in the past.
Where the Orange Trail splits, you could go either way because the two
options come back together further south, but the left option is about half as
long as the right option. I chose the
shorter option, but you should choose whichever one pleases you.
 |
| Hiking the Orange Trail |
3 miles into the hike, traffic on SR
80 comes within earshot on the right as a tall, stark, nearly vertical gneiss rock
outcrop can be seen ahead. Now comes the
hardest part of the hike: the trail circles around to the back of the outcrop
and climbs its bare rock ledges. Whereas
you may have needed to use your hands to navigate the boulders earlier on this
hike, you will definitely need to use your hands to climb and descend these
ledges. I met some rock
climbers/rappellers here who were enjoying this cliff for their sport, and
their climbing route was much longer and sheerer than mine. Some nice views to the west might emerge here
in the leafless months.
The trail traces the cliff line
before curving right and descending the back (east) side of the rock
outcrop. This descent is steep and rocky
but more manageable than the way you came up.
At 3.5 miles, you reach the south end of the Orange Trail when you
intersect the park exit road. Cross the
road to begin the Paul F. Wilderman Boardwalk, which is named for its designer.
 |
| Paul F. Wilderman Boardwalk |
Made of real wood, the boardwalk
carries you over a shallow wetland formed by a broad section of Chatfield
Hollow Brook. Interpretive signs
describe the wetland’s rich flora and fauna, but the greenery is sufficiently
dense to make wildlife viewing difficult.
The east end of the boardwalk comes out at a gravel parking lot near the
park entrance road. Turn left and walk
the park road back to the swimming area to complete the hike. Alternatively, if you have more time and
energy you could turn right to reach the start of the Chimney Trail and explore
the park's caves.
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