Area 167 ha Established 1949 | Phone +1 860-663-2030 | |
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Hours Open today · 7AM–7:30PMFriday7AM–7:30PMSaturday7AM–7:30PMSunday7AM–7:30PMMonday7AM–7:30PMTuesday7AM–7:30PMWednesday7AM–7:30PMThursday7AM–7:30PM Similar Wharton Brook State Park, Day Pond State Park, Wadsworth Falls State Park, Gay City State Park, Hurd State Park | ||
Chatfield Hollow State Park is a public recreation area lying adjacent to Cockaponset State Forest in the town of Killingworth, Connecticut. The state park offers hiking trails, a swimming beach, trout fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, and picnicking areas. Park attractions include Indian caves, historic sites, a restored water wheel, and a reproduction covered bridge. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
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HistoryEdit
The park was developed in the 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps recreation area within Cockaponset State Forest. The CCC created seven-acre Schreeder Pond in 1934 by building a horseshoe-shaped earth and stone dam across Chatfield Hollow Brook. In 1937, Oak Lodge was raised on the west side of Schreeder Pond; the lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The area was designated as a state park in 1949.
GeologyEdit
The park's bedrock ledges consist of a type of gneiss called Monson Gneiss, a medium- to coarse-grained rock, light in color, mainly composed of plagioclase, quartz and biotite; trace amounts of garnet, epidote, magnetite can be observed in places. The park sits in a glacial valley, with steep declines on either side and an abundance glacial erratics. The erratics are smooth with sharp edges removed; the majority are composed of Monson Gneiss. Examples of other rock types can be found in the park, since erratics can sometimes be moved great distances.
Activities and amenitiesEdit
The 825-foot (251 m) Paul F. Wildermann Boardwalk allows visitors to cross an inland swamp without disturbing it. In addition, some 20 miles (32 km) of hiking trails, including the blue-blazed Chatfield Trail, originate within the park and extend into adjacent sections of Cockaponset State Forest.
The park offers some of the most difficult technical cross-country mountain biking trails in the state, among them are the Lookout Trail and the Pond Trail, which is a side trail that loops off the Deep Woods Trail.
The park's ledges and cliffs include one of the most popular rock climbing routes in the state along the southern end of the Deep Woods Trail adjacent to Route 81.
Chatfield Hollow State Park is one of Connecticut's eleven Trout Parks, with pond and stream stockings throughout the season and easy accessibility for young and novice anglers.
The park offers swimming on Schreeder Pond and areas for picnicking.