Hike #18: Broad Hill Road Area of McLean Game Refuge - Granby, CT

Date Hiked:  Saturday, April 9, 2016
Estimated distance round-trip: 5.79 miles
Weather: 40°F, partly cloudy
Resources: CT Waterfalls, New England Waterfalls, McLean Game Refuge Trail Map
Highlights of the trip: Waterfalls, remains of old homesteads
Progress toward 2016 hiking goals:  18/52 hikes; 63.01/250 miles; 8/25 miles on Tunxis Trail


Fantastic hike!  Today I decided to explore the Broad Hill Road area of McLean Game Refuge, including sections of Weed Hill and Old Beech Road.  Whenever I hike in the Refuge, I give a little word of thanks to Senator McLean.  And today I found that I also need to thank the Messenger, Reynold, Caruso, Collamore, and Carpenter families, who have given land to expand the Refuge.  What a tremendous gift you have all given!

I parked on Broad Hill Road in the small parking area (3 cars) near the gate.  The road beyond the gate is not paved and there is a sign indicating that it is not maintained in winter.  I have not been here when the gate is open, so I don't know if it ever is.

The kiosk is a Little Free Library.

I climbed up past the Granby Land Trust's Diamond Ledges and Petersen Preserves on the right, and trails into Holcomb Farm's Western trails on the left.  At around 0.7 miles (total guess), Weed Hill Road goes off to the left on a bridge over Beach Brook.  An unmarked trail leads down to Carpenter Falls.  (From the bridge you can see a large plaque on one of the rocks in the stream with the name Carpenter Falls on it).  The falls were absolutely spectacular!  How did I not know about them?

Carpenter Falls

Carpenter Falls

After viewing the falls, I continued on Weed Hill Road.  This road is lined with old stone walls and wolf trees.  There are also a couple of old cellar holes that I find just fascinating.  Why did they get abandoned?

Circular foundation near a regular rectangular one.  An old silo?

Old well.

Maybe the stone to the right of my hiking poles used to cover the well.

An area of daffodils in the woods.

I eventually came to the "end" of the road.  Not really.  I am guessing it is the start of the Weed Hill trail in McLean Game Refuge.  When Steve Wood of CTMQ posted about it (page alomost to the bottom), there were a couple of old couches out here around the fire pit.  The couches are gone (if I have the location correct), but there are a few old springs adorning a tree.

The end of Weed Hill Road for me, but the start of Weed Hill Trail in McLean Game Refuge.

Old couch springs?

 I turned around and headed back down the hill to the intersection with Broad Hill Road.

Heading back to Broad Hill Road.

Turning left and continuing on Broad Hill, I soon came to an area with a couple of cabins on the left and a man-made pond on the right.  This is marked on the McLean map as private property, so I just kept to the road.  I could see a great blue heron standing in the pond and was able to get a reasonable picture from my vantage point.

Great Blue Heron.

Where Broad Hill Road takes a sharp right to head over toward Route 219, Old Beech Road (marked as abandoned on the map), continues straight.  A new trail, called Pine Cone Trail, has been created that follows this old road.  Pine Cone Trail is blazed black.  It is listed with the other trails on the McLean Game Refuge map, but it is not actually indicated on the map. 

The start of Pine Cone Trail.

As I walked along Pine Cone Trail, I could hear water from Beach Brook rushing to my left (funny how it is Old "Beech" Road, but "Beach" Brook).  I eventually came to another sign for Pine Cone Trail, but it seemed a little misplaced.   The sign is to the right of the trail and points left, as if you were to continue on going straight.  However, the black blazes go into the woods and seem to end rather abruptly (two horizontal blazes indicates the end of trail, so I did not look any further).  If you look at the McLean map you will see the trail takes a sharp right here and should continue on to the top of Pine Cone Mountain. 

The left arrow makes no sense to me.

 I chose to keep going straight, which took me out of the Game Refuge and into Enders State Forest.

View of trail that continues straight into Enders.

I continued up this trail for a little bit and then decided to call it quits.  I would like to try it again another day.  It looks like the trail will take you pretty close to a stream that flows into the falls.

Where I called it quits and turned around.

On the way back down the Pine Cone Trail, I just had to investigate the sound of rushing water from Beach Brook.  I am glad I did.  Another fantastic waterfall!

Mystery waterfall - I'll call it Old Beech Waterfall.

Another view of Old Beech Waterfall.

There may be more waterfalls downstream, but I decided to call it a day and head back to the car.  This was an absolutely fantastic hike!  I am just amazed at how much land there is to explore here.  Thanks to all those who made it available to the public.

Hike #49: McLean Game Refuge - Granby/Simsbury, CT

Date Hiked: Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Estimated distance: 6.02 miles
Weather: 55°F, sunny
Resources: McLean Game Refuge Map
Highlights of the trip:  fall colors
Progress toward 2016 hiking goals:  49/52 hikes; 186.15/250 miles; 31.37/25 miles on Tunxis Trail

Today, I worked on my quest to see how the trails in the main part of McLean Game Refuge connect to those over near Broad Hill Road.  I wrote about my Broad Hill Road hike (#44) and how I went part way on the white-blazed Eddy Loop Trail.  If I had continued I would have ended up on Firetown Road.  In this hike, I started on Canton Road, hiked through the main part of the Refuge over to the corner of Barndoor Hills and Simsbury Roads.  I crossed Simsbury Road and hiked over to the parking area on Firetown Road.  By wallking just a short distance on Firetown (I could see the sign), I could connect to the Eddy Loop Trail and keep on going over to Broad Hill Road.

The field in the main part of the Refuge just before heading down to Barndoor Hills Road.

After crossing Simsbury Road, I climbed up and over a small hill and wound my way down to a small field.  Pretty view with the trees changing color.

I continued over to Firetown Road and crossed over to look at the (non-existent) waterfall.  The Eddy Loop was just up the road to the right.

After looking at the waterfall, I headed back.  It is a really nice trail and I wonder how much it gets used.  I saw no one out here today.

I think my next step will be to have a friend join me so we can spot our cars and hike all the way through from Broad Hill to Canton.  Based upon my out and back mileage for this hike and the one on Broad Hill, I am guessing a through hike would be a little over 6 miles.

Hike #44: Broad Hill Road Area of McLean Game Refuge - Granby, CT

Date Hiked: Monday, October 3, 2016
Estimated distance: 4.93 miles
Weather: 70°F, mostly cloudy
Resources: McLean Game Refuge Trail Map, Hike #18
Highlights of the trip:  quiet woods
Progress toward 2016 hiking goals:  44/52 hikes; 166.20/250 miles; 31.37/25 miles on Tunxis Trail



I need to get some miles done if I want to make my goal of 250 miles for the year.  That means that I am going to have to do some hiking during the week.  I was trying to think of a place that I could go that would be a little different, but would not take me too far from home.  I decided I should revisit the Broad Hill area of the McLean Game Refuge.  This had been an interesting hike when I did it back in April.

My plan today was to explore a little further into the refuge on the Eddy Loop.  I parked at the gates, where Broad Hill Road turns to gravel, and walked up to Carpenter Falls.  I took a left on to the Weed Hill Trail and followed it until I got to the white-blazed Eddy Loop Trail. I decided to go out about 2.5 miles and then turn around (it was about 2.4 when I actually turned around).

Top of Carpenter Falls.

Looking south on Weed Hill Trail.

There are a lot of old stone walls here.

I was starting to wonder if I had missed the turn-off for the Eddy Loop Trail.  Then I cam across a sign post.  As I faced the post, the trail I wanted was behind me.  The rest of the trail continued in the same direction I had been going and would have taken me out on to Firetown Road.  I think to actually complete the Eddy Loop of 3.2 miles, you have a bit of walking on Firetown.

I was not going down to the road.  I turned on to the white-blazed trail.  After a short way, it seemed like I was going in the wrong direction.  I felt like I was doubling back the way I had come.  But, it is just the way the trail goes and it soon turned again to go the way I expected.  Off to my left, I could see an area that could possibly have a little waterfall when there is enough water, and before long, I crossed that stream higher up.  I crossed another stream just before I turned around.

I climbed to the top of this little ledge to turn around.

Some kind of coral fungus.

When I got back to Carpenter Falls, I climbed down below the falls to take a look.  There was not a lot to see.  If you look at the pictures I took on my hike here in April, you will see what I mean.

There were no beautiful vistas or rushing waterfalls, but I absolutely loved this hike.  I like to imagine what it must have looked like when people actually lived up here.  I think about what secrets these woods hold - old cellar holes, orchards, etc.

On future hikes, I'd like to leave a car over on the corner of Simsbury Road and Barndoor Hills Road and hike all the way through on the Eddy Loop and Firetown Trails.  I'd also like to explore where I left off in April on the Pine Cone Trail and see if I could hike all the way to Enders Falls.  There is a lot of exploring to do in this area.

Hike #51: McLean Game Refuge from Broad Hill Road to Canton Road - Granby

Date Hiked: Sunday, November 6, 2016
Estimated distance:  6.62 miles
Weather: 50°F, overcast
Resources:  McLean Game Refuge Trail Map
Highlights of the trip:  connecting trails
Progress toward 2016 hiking goals:  51/52 hikes; 197.97/250 miles; 31.37/25 miles on Tunxis Trail


My hiking partner and her husband joined me on this hike.  I don't have any pictures, but I enjoyed the hike.  I was glad to finally pull together different sections of the McLean Game Refuge trails.  We started at the gate on Broad Hill Road in West Granby, hiked over Weed Hill and along the Eddy Loop to the (non-existent) waterfall on Firetown Road in Simsbury, and then along the Firetown Trail to the corner of Simsbury and Barndoor Hills Roads, and finally on the woods road to Canton Road in Granby. 

There were no real views, but if there was water you would see several waterfalls along the way.

A good day, with a fair amount of mileage.

Carpenter's Falls - West Granby, CT

Date Hiked: Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Estimated distance:  1.80 miles
Weather: 50°F, partly cloudy
Resources: New England Waterfalls
Highlights of the trip:  waterfall



A great start to the New Year.  My husband joined me on a hike to beautiful Carpenter's Falls in West Granby.  Although you can use the trails at Holcomb Farm to get to the falls, we chose to make the more straightforward hike by parking by the gate on Broad Hill Road.  There is only room for a few cars there, so this location does not work if you are hiking with a group.

Once through the gate, you walk up an unmaintained dirt road.  Granby Land Trust's Diamond Ledges are to your right and the trails from Holcomb Farm are to your left.  At about the 0.70 mile mark, Weed Hill Road will go off to the left and a bridge will cross Beach Brook.  The falls are just below the bridge.

At the top of the falls.

On the way back down the road, we took a very short detour on to the land trust's Petersen Preserve.  There seemed to be a trail, although there was a tree down across it, but I wasn't sure where it was really going to lead us.  Normally, I am happy to just explore and see what I can find, but we had already been out for awhile, so I am saving it for another day.  You can get an idea of what the trail might be by looking at OpenStreetMap.  There is so much up here to explore, I can't wait to go back.

Broad Hill Road

Snowshoe Fail

On Tuesday, March 14, our area received about a foot and a half of snow.  Thoughts of spring had to be put aside.

On Friday, I decided to dig out my snowshoes and try a little hike.  I don't think I used my snowshoes at all last year.  I thought that I'd be able to hike the 3/4 of a mile to Carpenter Falls in West Granby along Broad Hill Road.  I was wrong.

The going was tougher than I had anticipated.   I didn't want to wreck the X-Country ski tracks that someone else had made, so I was breaking my own trail.  The snow was still quite fluffy and, with each step, I sank into the snow and then pulled the snow out with my snowshoe. 

I made it about a 1/4 of a mile and decided to call it quits.  If someone else had been with me, maybe I could have motivated myself to go farther, but it just wasn't much fun.  I did enjoy being outside on a nice day - as long as I was standing there motionless!

Ostensibly taking a picture, but really taking a break.

I obviously need to get in better shape, but it probably would have helped if:
a.  I hadn't picked a hike that was on a hill (duh, Broad HILL Road),
b.  I had snowshoes designed for my current weight (I bought these a number of years ago).

In all, I went a little over 1/2 a mile, so I don't get to count it toward my hike goals (which must be a minimum of 1 mile). 

West Granby - Holcomb Farm

Date Hiked:  Sunday, May 17, 2015
Number in Group: 1
Estimated distance round-trip: 2.2 miles
Weather: Warm, low to mid 70's when I started hiking at around 9 a.m.
Resources: Holcomb Farm, trail map
Highlights of the trip: wildflowers

I decided to get my hike in earlier rather than later on Sunday, since I knew it was supposed to get into the high 80's.  I was on the trail around 9 a.m. and it was already pretty warm.  I didn't use my car to get to the farm, so I had no bug spray with me.  I definitely could have used it!

Holcomb Farm has gone through some changes in the last few years, but activities including art classes, Two Coyotes Wilderness School, educational classes, and more, keep the place busy.  I was surprised to see people there on a Sunday morning.  They were there for The Institute of Sustainable Nutrition class.

The western trails start behind the big red barns.  I walked down the hill, crossed Kendall Brook, and entered the CSA fields.  Straight across the field and through the gate took me to the banks of the West Branch of the Salmon Brook.

Kendall Brook

Holcomb Farm CSA

Bridge over the West Branch of the Salmon Brook

On the far side of the bridge there is a lot of sand and rounded rocks.  It's a nice place to sit and enjoy the sun, or look for unique looking rocks.  Head straight back toward the woods and you will come to the start of the Yellow Trail.  I decided I would take the trails in order - Yellow to Blue to Green to Purple - always turning right and gaining elevation on each trail.  I went to the right and wound my way through the woods a bit, noticing a few wildflowers and a lean-to, before I got to the stairs.

Canada Mayflower

 

Going up!

At the top of the stairs, I turned right onto the Thruway (Blue) Trail.  This trail climbed a little higher and turned 180 degrees, after which it connected to the High Ridge (Green) Trail.  This leads you out to a trail head off of the dirt section of Broad Hill Road, or if you turn left and stay on the trail, it very quickly connects to the Lookout (Purple) Trail.

Fringed Polygala

The Lookout Trail has a little spur that takes you to the lookout.  It is an outcrop of rocks in the middle of the woods.  There is not much to see at this time of year, but maybe once the leaves have fallen you can get a view to the east.  Just below the lookout, on the trail, is a picnic table and small bench next to a couple of glacial erratics.

The sign on the right indicates the Lookout that you see on the left.

A bench to enjoy the view once the leaves are gone.

Glacial erratics.

Continuing on the Lookout Trail, I soon connected back to the High Ridge Trail at the end opposite from where I started.  A short section of the High Ridge Trail, took me back again to the Thruway Trail.  I think it was near here that I came across what I assume are shelters built by the kids in the Two Coyotes classes.  I also spotted the only Pink Lady's-slipper that I have seen this year.  I looked around, but didn't see any others.

A little village in the woods.

Pink Lady's-slipper

When the Thruway (Blue) Trail connects with the Yellow Trail again, you have two choices.  If you go left, you will stick to the woods and go back to the stairs.  If you go to the right, which is the way I went, you will follow the Yellow Trail down the hill until you get to the bridge over Beach Brook.

A hawk or owl feather.  Not sure which.

You must cross Beach Brook again in order to get back to where you started.  The only issue is, there is not another bridge.  The water needs to be low enough for you to be able to cross using the rocks in the stream.  Someone has put a rope between a couple of trees to help with the first part of the crossing.  This gets you to a little "island" from which you have to make your way over another smaller section of the stream.  I got the toe of one boot wet, but not a big deal.  You would not be able to cross this area in higher water.

See the rope tied between the trees?

West Branch of Salmon Brook

Jack-in-the-pulpit

West Branch of Salmon Brook back near the bridge.

I followed the Yellow Trail back to where I started, crossed the bridge, went through the CSA fields and back to the barn. 

According to the data on my phone, I went about 2.2 miles and reached an elevation of 644 feet.  I really enjoyed the hike.  It was on the warm side, but not too bad, although the mosquitoes were ferocious if I stopped moving.  You could lengthen this hike by zig-zagging the trails as you went up, or you could visit some of the Granby Land Trust properties (Diamond Ledges, Petersen, and Beman Family Preserves) off of Broad Hill Road.  (As far as I know there are no trail maps for these properties).