Explore Windham, CT
Windham at a Glance
Part of Windham County
If you’re looking for the best hiking trails in Chaplin this is the complete guide to all the long trails, waterfalls, and history it has to offer.
Chaplin has well over 500 acres of protected land hosting:
- 11 hiking areas for 8.4 miles of hiking trails
- 1 whitewater boating area
- 3 spots for fishing
- 1 disc golf course
Trails range from the wide flat out-and-backs of the Air Line to short hilly and wooded loops. The town boasts one of the best swimming holes that is not a swimming hole at Diana’s Pool as well as one of the rare whitewater runs in the state. For a more relaxed day, cast a line along the Natchaug River or try your hand at the 9 hole disc golf course at Garrison Park. Seek out the paper mill ruins, the hidden waterfall, or just pass through historic Main Street.
My Highlights
- The pine grove at Allanach-Wolf
- The new bridge and river walk on the Hop River Trail
Hiking
Town Parks
- Lauter Park –★★– No trails – Ground to walk around, picnic pavilion, and Willimantic River access
- Willimantic Whitewater Park –★– No trails – Open grounds with a view of a waterfall that hold the weekly farmer’s market and one day hopefully a full whitewater park
Land Trust
- Joshua’s Trust
- Allanach-Wolf Woodlands –★★– 1.5 miles – Great spot along Lake Marie with an out and back trail
- Atlantic White Cedar Bog – No trails – Plans for a boardwalk someday
- Hall Preserve – No trails – Fisherman’s paths near the Mansfield Hollow Dam
- Wyndham Land Trust
- Joshua’s Trust
State Parks / Forest
- Air Line Trail State Park – 6 miles
- Junction with the Hop River Trail
- Small lot near 55 Bridge St, Willimantic, CT
- 2/3rds of a mile road stretch on Riverside Drive through Willimantic
- Small lots on either side of 460 Beaver Hill Rd, North Windham, CT
- Connection to trails at Two Sisters Tract
- Beaver Brook State Park –★★– <1 mile – Short trail that fades off into the woods, mostly an area for boating/fishing
- Hop River Trail – 1.4 miles
- Junction with the Air Line Trail
- Just one last bridge to renovate before the trail is complete, the rest of the trail starts across the river in Columbia
- Air Line Trail State Park – 6 miles
The Rest
- Frog Bridge – No trails but I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the giant frogs on the bridge
- Windham Airport Dyke –★★– 1.4 miles – A popular paved walking path between Windham Airport and the Mansfield Hollow Dam (Parking Link)
- Willimantic Brewing Company – great pub in an old post office
- A Cupcake for Later
Windham was settled by colonists as early as 1686 and it was incorporated in May 1692 making it the 32nd oldest town in Connecticut. It named for either Windham in Sussex or from Wymondham in Norfolk.
The first church erected on the Windham Green in 1700 and Windham Center was the historical population center until increasing industrialization made the mills in Willimantic more profitable and populated in the 1800s.
During the Victorian era, Willimantic was the center for the production of silk and cotton thread, and many of the mansions in the Victorian Hill section of Willimantic were built.
In 1985 The American Thread Company, Windham’s largest employer, left the area resulting in a period of decline until the areas recent development.
