GMC Worcester – Outings Calendar

TUNXIS STATE FOREST (CONNECTICUT) CAMPING AND HIKING - Hike with AMC

April 4-5, 2026

Meet at 9:00 A.M. at 25 Birchwood Drive in Holden. 

RSVP to David J. Miller, 508-853-8964, sentierdeau@gmail.com

Drive to Tunxis State Forest, 84.3 mi.  (About 1 hour and 35 mins.)

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.  

In February of 2014 we saw lots of tracks in the snow: deer tracks and scat and the impressions of their bodies where they slept in the snow; bunny tracks and scat; otter tracks going along the edge of a beaver pond and then disappearing into the water; bobcat tracks; wild turkey tracks; squirrel tracks; and, coyote tracks.

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 through the site.

After a one 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.  There is a 2.1 mile trail down to the reservoir passing by Kettle Brook.  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 ft.) to the scenic lookout at the summit of Pine Mountain (elevation 1,391 ft.). 

There is a 5.5 mile loop, bushwacking down to the reservoir, following a woods road along the shore, and back up via the trail past Kettle Brook.   

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.

David J. Miller, 508-853-8964, sentierdeau@gmail.com