Explore Bolton, CT

Town Parks

• • Freja Park –★★– 0.88 miles – A gateway park offering access to the Shenipsit, Charter Oak Greenway, Hop River Trail, Bolton Notch and Risley Park
  • Herrick Park –★★– 1 mile – Most people come for the sports fields, but there is a somewhat disused hiking loop
  • Heritage Farm –★★– 2 miles – The site of a Rochambeau revolutionary war encampment, the grounds are pretty fun to explore
  • Indian Notch Park – Seasonal town park with a beach, fields, and pavilion. Daily fee for access:
    • Residents: $5 Weekday, $7 Weekend/Holiday
    • Non-Residents: $7 Weekday, $20 Weekend/Holiday

Land Trust

• • Bolton Land Trust
    • Blackledge Marsh –★★– 1.22 miles – Recently expanded to a second well chosen loop
    • Castlerock Lane –★– 0.6 miles – A pleasant but underwhelming out and back trail bookended by private property
    • Edith Toomey Clark Property –★★– 1.5 miles – Accessed off the Hop River Trail these woods offer a few nice surprises
    • Lombardi Ridge Preserve & Bobcat Woods –★★– 3.4 miles – Highlighted by the Rock Hollow spur in simple forest loops
  • Manchester Land Conservation Trust
    • Risley Park –★★★– 3 miles – Maintained by CFPA, this has a short loop around the pond or a long loop near Box Mountain

State Parks / Forest

• • Bolton Notch State Park –★★★– 2 miles – Highlights include the American Flag overlook and Squaw Cave
  • Hop River State Park Trail – 3.6 miles of the trail run through Bolton
    • Steele’s Crossing — 2.3 miles
      • Parking: 29 Steeles Crossing Rd, Bolton, CT
      • Access to Heritage Farm one of Rochambeau’s revolutionary war encampments and Toomey Clark Preserve
      • Maintained by Greenway Ambassador Barbara Amodio
    • Bolton Notch — 1.3 miles
      • Parking: US-6, Bolton, CT
      • This section is also a part of the blue blaze Shenipsit Trail
      • The trail passes through deep rock cuts and has access to the Charter Oak Greenway, Freja Park, Bolton Notch State Park, and Squaw Cave

Blue Blaze

• • Shenipsit Trail
    • East Coast Greenway –★★– 0.9 miles – Nice new paved section along I-384, nice for cyclists, not as great for hikers
    • Freja Park –★★– 0.54 miles – The Shenipsit passes an old drive-in before skirting the edge of Notch Pond
    • Hop River Trail –★★– 0.54 miles – These two trails overlap on this stone dust old rail bed
  • Risley Park –★★★– 3 miles – Maintained by CFPA, this has a short loop around the pond or a long loop near Box Mountain

The Rest

• • Porter/Howard Reservoir –★★★– 5 miles – Only the eastern most trail clips into Bolton, but beautiful looping trails into Manchester
  • Charter Oak Greenway – Completed in 2016 this new section parallels I-384 as a link in the East Coast Greenway
    • East: Parking at Bolton Notch
    • West: Parking near Manchester