Naugatuck State Forest
Naugatuck State Forest is a Connecticut state forest consisting of five separate blocks in the towns of Oxford, Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Bethany, Cheshire, Hamden,[4] Seymour, and Ansonia. The five blocks are the Mount Sanford (Cheshire, Hamden—bordering Prospect and Bethany), East (Beacon Falls, Bethany, Naugatuck), West (Naugatuck, Oxford, Beacon Falls), Quillinan Reservoir (Seymour, Ansonia), and Great Hill (Seymour) blocks.
History
The first purchases of lands which comprise the Naugatuck State Forest were made by Harris Whittemore in 1921. Whittemore, a Connecticut State Forest and Park Commissioner and industrial magnate, intended to donate the forest parcels to the state but died in 1928 before he could do so. In 1931, in memoriam, Whittemore's family donated nearly 2,000 acres (which included additional parcels acquired after his death).[3] The other blocks were added afterwards with the Great Hill block having been added most recently.
A scenic valley consisting of the parallel Naugatuck River and Connecticut Route 8 splits the East and West block's rising hills in Naugatuck. Most of the Naugatuck State Forest blocks are in the Naugatuck River watershed whose sources and mouth are entirely within the limits of Connecticut and which is itself a tributary of the lower Housatonic River. The towns in the Naugatuck Valley area were settled during the early part of the 18th century and were typical of the early New England settlements. Rivers, streams and ponds were dammed to furnish waterpower for gristmills, tanneries, and later paper mills. There are many stone walls marking the boundaries of colonial era farms, though large portions of the Naugatuck State Forest blocks are composed of rocky hills which made poor farmland.
Activities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Naugatuck_SF_Quillinan_White_Trail_Singletrack_Near_former_NIKE_site.jpg/213px-Naugatuck_SF_Quillinan_White_Trail_Singletrack_Near_former_NIKE_site.jpg)
Naugatuck State Forest is used for fishing, hiking, hunting, target shooting, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, mountain biking, climbing, geocaching and trail running. The forest is crossed by several Blue-Blazed Trails including the Quinnipiac Trail and Naugatuck Trail (including the Whittemore spur). Mountain biking trails include fire roads in the various blocks, as well as several miles of singletrack trail in the Quillinan Block that were created in cooperation of the DEEP State Forester's office, the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), and Thule Corporation.
Features
- Eastern East Block - Beacon Cap
- West Block - High Rock Shooting Association Rifle Range
- West Block - Seymour Reservoirs
- Mount Sanford block - Cromie Grove and the border with the Town of Hamden's Brooksvale Recreation Area/Park.
- Quillinan Block - Mountain biking "singletrack" White and Purple trails.
References
- ^ a b "Naugatuck State Forest". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee (January 23, 2014). "State Parks and Forests: Funding" (PDF). Staff Findings and Recommendations. Connecticut General Assembly. p. A-3. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
- ^ a b "Connecticut State Forests Seedling Letterbox Series - Clues for Naugatuck State Forest". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ^ "Naugatuck State Forest". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
External links
- Naugatuck State Forest Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Naugatuck State Forest Map (East & West Blocks) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Naugatuck State Forest Map (Mount Sanford) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Naugatuck State Forest (Maps 1-5) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- v
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- Above All
- Air Line
- Beaver Brook
- Becket Hill State Park Reserve
- Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument
- Bennett's Pond
- Bigelow Hollow
- Black Rock
- Bluff Point
- Bolton Notch
- Brainard Homestead
- Burr Pond
- Camp Columbia
- Campbell Falls
- Chatfield Hollow
- Collis P. Huntington
- Connecticut Valley Railroad
- Dart Island State Park
- Day Pond
- Dennis Hill
- Devil's Hopyard
- Dinosaur
- Eagle Landing
- Farm River
- Farmington Canal
- Fort Griswold Battlefield
- Fort Trumbull
- Gardner Lake
- Gay City
- George Dudley Seymour
- George Waldo
- Gillette Castle
- Haddam Island
- Haddam Meadows
- Haley Farm
- Hammonasset Beach
- Harkness Memorial
- Haystack Mountain
- Higganum Reservoir
- Hop River State Park Trail
- Hopemead
- Hopeville Pond
- Horse Guard
- Housatonic Meadows
- Humaston Brook
- Hurd
- Indian Well
- John A. Minetto
- Kent Falls
- Kettletown
- Killingly Pond
- Lake Waramaug
- Lamentation Mountain
- Larkin State Park Trail
- Lovers Leap
- Macedonia Brook
- Machimoodus
- Mansfield Hollow
- Mashamoquet Brook
- Mianus River
- Millers Pond
- Minnie Island
- Mohawk Mountain
- Mono Pond
- Moosup Valley State Park Trail
- Mooween
- Mount Bushnell
- Mount Riga
- Mount Tom
- Old Furnace
- Osbornedale
- Penwood
- Platt Hill
- Pomeroy
- Putnam Memorial
- Quaddick
- Quinebaug Lake
- Quinnipiac River
- River Highlands
- Rocky Glen
- Rocky Neck
- Ross Pond
- Salt Rock State Campground
- Satan's Kingdom State Recreation Area
- Scantic River
- Selden Neck
- Seth Low Pierrepont
- Sherwood Island
- Silver Sands
- Sleeping Giant
- Southford Falls
- Squantz Pond
- Stillwater Pond
- Stoddard Hill
- Stratton Brook
- Sunnybrook
- Sunrise
- Talcott Mountain
- Tri-Mountain
- Trout Brook Valley
- Wadsworth Falls
- West Rock Ridge
- Wharton Brook
- Whittemore Glen
- Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail
- Windsor Meadows
- Wooster Mountain
- Algonquin
- American Legion
- Centennial Watershed
- Cockaponset
- Enders
- James L. Goodwin
- Housatonic
- Massacoe
- Mattatuck
- Meshomasic
- Mohawk
- Mohegan
- Nassahegon
- Natchaug
- Nathan Hale
- Naugatuck
- Nehantic
- Nepaug
- Nipmuck
- Nye-Holman
- Pachaug
- Paugnut
- Paugussett
- People's
- Pootatuck
- Quaddick
- Salmon River
- Shenipsit
- Topsmead
- Tunxis
- Wyantenock
- Aldo Leopold WMA
- Assekonk WMA
- Babcock Pond WMA
- Barber Pond WMA
- Barn Island WMA
- Bartlett Brook WMA
- Bear Hill WMA
- Belding WMA
- Bishops Swamp WMA
- Black Pond WMA
- Candlewood Hill WMA
- Cedar Swamp WMA
- Charles E. Wheeler WMA
- Cromwell Meadows WMA
- Durham Meadows WMA
- East River Marsh WMA
- East Swamp WMA
- Eightmile River WMA
- Franklin Swamp WMA
- Goshen WMA
- Great Harbor WMA
- Higganum Meadows WMA
- Housatonic River WMA
- King's Island Coop WMA
- Kollar WMA
- Larson Lot WMA
- Little River Fish and Wildlife Area
- Lord's Cove WMA
- Maromas Coop WMA
- Meadow Brook WMA
- Menunketesuck WMA
- Messerschmidt WMA
- Newgate WMA
- Nod Brook WMA
- Nott Island WMA
- Pease Brook WMA
- Plum Bank WMA
- Quinebaug River WMA
- Quinnipiac River Marsh WMA
- Ragged Rock WMA
- Raymond Brook Marsh WMA
- Robbins Swamp WMA
- Roger Tory Peterson Wildlife Area
- Roraback WMA
- Rose Hill WMA
- Ross Marsh WMA
- Salmon River Cove and Haddam Neck WMA
- Sessions Woods WMA
- Simsbury WMA
- Skiff Mountain Coop WMA
- James V. Spignesi WMA
- Stanley Works WMA
- Suffield WMA
- Talbot WMA
- Tankerhoosen WMA
- Wangunk Meadows WMA
- Wopowog WMA
- Zemko Pond WMA
- Aspetuck Reservoir
- Barkhamsted Reservoir
- Beaver Dam Lake
- Candlewood Lake
- Easton Reservoir
- Far Mill Reservoir
- Hemlock Reservoir
- Hop Brook Lake
- Lake Lillinonah
- Mansfield Hollow Lake
- Means Brook
- Saugatuck Reservoir
- Trap Falls Reservoir
- West Hartford Reservoir
- West Pequonnock Reservoir
- Lake Zoar
- Aspetuck Land Trust
- Aton Forest
- Audubon Center at Bent of the River
- Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens
- Bear Mountain
- Beckley Bog
- Branford Land Trust
- Case Mountain
- Cathedral Pines
- Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield
- Connecticut College Arboretum
- Devil's Den Preserve
- Earthplace
- Great Mountain Forest
- Higby Mountain
- Highstead Arboretum
- Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust
- McLean Game Refuge
- New Canaan Nature Center
- Peter's Rock
- Pine Mountain Reserve
- Saltonstall Mountain
- Stamford Museum & Nature Center
- Steep Rock Association
- Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust
- White Memorial Foundation
- Woodcock Nature Center
- Yale-Myers Forest
- American Legion State Forest Trails
- Aspetuck Valley Trail
- Blue-Blazed Trails
- Chatfield Trail
- Hancock Brook Trail
- Housatonic Range Trail
- Lillinonah Trail
- Mattabesett Trail
- Menunkatuck Trail
- Metacomet Trail
- Narragansett Trail
- Natchaug Trail
- Naugatuck Trail
- Nehantic Trail
- Nipmuck Trail
- Paugussett Trail
- Pequot Trail
- Quinnipiac Trail
- Regicides Trail
- Salmon River Trail
- Shenipsit Trail
- Tunxis Trail
- Westwoods Trails
- Whitestone Cliffs Trail
- Zoar Trail
Forest/Parks
- Bear Mountain Reservation
- Beardsley Park
- Burr Farm Protected Open Space
- East Rock Park
- Gurski Farm Protected Open Space
- Happy Landings Protected Open Space
- Lighthouse Point Park
- Lillinonah Woods
- Mill River Park
- Old Bridge Sanctuary
- Pleasure Beach
- Roosevelt Forest
- Salt Meadow Park
- Seaside Park
- Webb Mountain Discovery Zone
- Webb Mountain Park