GMC Worcester – Outings (Copy)

Saturday and Sunday, August 22 and 23. Tunxis State Forest (Connecticut) Camping and Hiking.

Meet at 9:00 A.M. at 25 Birchwood Drive in Holden on August 22. (Or at the trailhead.) Drive to Tunxis State Forest, 84.3 miles. (About 1 hour and 35 minutes.)

Tunxis State Forest in NW CT offers a gently rolling landscape with very pleasant scenery and hiking with brooks and rocky ledges, marshes and ponds. The forest is highly diverse with red and white oak trees, sugar maple, ash, paper and yellow birch, beech, pine, hemlock, and spruce. Deer, coyotes, porcupines, and moose frequent the area, and there are occasional beaver ponds. Our campsite borders on a scenic marsh and is sheltered by white pine and hemlock trees as well as some hardwoods. The site includes a fire pit, lots of room for tents, and nearby firewood. There is water in Roaring Brook, which runs by the site.

After a 2.8 mile hike from the trailhead, we will set up camp, gather firewood and have lunch around the fire. After lunch we will explore the area. A half mile southerly path leads to the Indian Council Cave, passing through the ruins of a small farming settlement along the way—stone walls, cellar holes, etc. It is 1.3 miles from camp (elevation 1,020 feet) to the scenic lookout at the summit of Pine Mountain (elevation 1,381 feet).

Bring your camping equipment, lunch, supper, breakfast, and lunch (Four meals). See AMC’s Best Backpacking in New England by Matt Heid for more information.

Call leader David Miller, 508-853-8964, or email him at for more information or to register for the trip.