Date visited: 4/18/2021

We walked a portion of Pachaug Trail that goes through Pachaug State Forest in Voluntown. It was a nice walk through a mostly pine forest, but there was nothing very remarkable about the trail. The one item of note was the tree with the "I Love Connecticut" logo carved on it. Someone must really love Connecticut!

Date visited: 10/24/2023

This was quite an adventure. This is a completely different section of the state forest than the portion we visited two and a half years ago. Accessing the parking area by the pond required driving over 3 miles on a very rough gravel road. The speed limit is posted as 20 MPH on this road, but the conditions of the road required me to drive much slower than that. The area by the pond is truly an escape to nature. There's no sound of cars or anything. We hiked a trail around the pond that includes part of the blue-blazed Narraganett trail that leads to Rhode Island, but we just stuck to the route around the pond. The trail is challenging, with some portions that are quite rocky. There's a waterfall by the dam, about 2/3 of the way through the loop. We had to climb down a steep rocky trail to get down to the point where I can take good pictures of the waterfall. I don't know how me made it one piece, or how we got back up, but we did manage somehow. Near the dam and waterfall is a wooden bridge, where we stopped to take a break. While I took this time to enjoy a couple granola bars, Mandy and Lexi were rolling in the grass. I didn't realize Mandy was rubbing her face in a mud puddle. Dogs will be dogs I guess! I tried to clean it a bit with the water I was carrying, but you'll see that Mandy's right side of her face is dirty in some of the pictures. The fall foliage was beautiful here. The one negative was that it was overcast for most of the trip. The forecast called for sunny skies from noon on, and we got here after one, but the sun didn't really come out until after we finished the trail, a bit before 3. Once the sun came out, I returned to the main picnic and swimming area, but I somehow lost the bag of treats I use to get the dogs to pose. I retraced my steps, sort of distraught that I would be inadvertantly littering this beautiful forest. I tried to get the dogs to pose without treats, but they don't cooperate that well without getting paid! I did eventually recover the bag of treats, but by that time the sun had gone behind clouds again! At any rate, this was one of the better hikes in the woods we went on this year. It was a lot of fun!

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Date visited: 4/28/2022

Date visited: 3/26/2023

This is the park behind the Town Hall and Library. It's the half way point for many of our trips to Rhode Island. We finally stopped to check it out on one of our trips to Rhode Island. Besides the pond, there is a gazebo with picnic tables, a soccer field, and a stone dust walking/jogging trail that circles the field. The Voluntown sign is in the front of the Town Hall. I always wanted to stop and take a picture of it, and finally did.