25 acres in Killingly, CT
Parking:
Trail Map Trails: 1 mile Rating: ★★★☆☆
Cat Hollow features a waterfall, an easy walking path, rich mill history, and slightly more rugged trails east of the pond.
Heading left passed the gate from the parking area is the picnic grove and a bridge installed in October 2017 over Whetstone Brook. From the bridge is the first view of the waterfalls over the Killingly Worsted Mill damn. Crossing the bridge heads slightly uphill until reaching the spillover that flows well even during dry conditions.
The trail jumps from rock to rock within sight of the mill pond and reminds me of Diana’s Pool in Chaplin. It continues for about a half mile until reaching what remains of the Sayles and Sabin Mill. This dam is smaller, but has a larger area to explore in dry conditions. The dam is overgrown on both sides so crossing back to Cat Hollow Rd may require some bushwacking in the summer and may not be possible when the water is flowing well.
Though only a short hike the history and dams make Cat Hollow an interesting place to visit.
Established as a town park in 2003. The park was originally just 16 acres featuring the closed road and pond views but with the addition of at least five acres from Briarwood Falls senior living community there are now legitimate trails east of the pond.
From the Killingly Conservation site,
“The availability of this wonderful source of waterpower from the rapidly descending brook meant that numerous small cotton and woolen mills were erected along its banks at the beginning of the industrial age in the early 1800’s. The Whetstone Brook drops about 70′ in the first 200 yards. These mills helped to make Killingly the greatest cotton manufacturing town in Connecticut in 1836”
There are short write-ups on the different mills in the area, those can be read here.
John Penney – New Cat Hollow Bridge is Helpful to Hikers
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25 Cat Hollow Road, Dayville, CT, USA
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