Planted:
Stratton Brook Spur Trail Letterbox;
June 18, 2003
Length:
Stratton
Brook
State Park
to
Farmington
Valley
Greenway; 1 ¾
miles.
Stratton
Brook
State Park
to
West Mountain Road
; 2 miles
Stratton
Brook
State Park
to Stratton Brook Spur Trail Letterbox; 1 ½ miles
Town Forest Park to Stratton Brook Spur Trail Letterbox; 0.4 miles
Difficulty:
Easy. Trail consists of stone dust, with an on-road detour.
Directions:
To start from
Stratton
Brook
State Park
; From the junction of Routes 10 and
167 in
Simsbury
head west along Route 167 for less then a mile. Route 167 then turns left,
however, you continue straight on Route 309. Within a mile you should see a sign
for Stratton Brook State Park on your left. Enter and proceed to the
parking lot.
To start from
Town
Forest
Park; From the junction of Routes 10
and 167 in
Simsbury
, head west along Route 167. At the junction of Routes 167 and 309 turn left and
continue along Route 167 to
Stratton Brook Road
. Take a right on
Stratton Brook Road
and then a left onto
Town Forest Road
. Note; there is another small parking lot here. Less then a mile down the road,
Town Forest Park will be on your right
and more parking just up on your left.
In 1869, the Central New England Railroad
broke ground in Winsted, CT. Starting in Hartford, this east-to-west route ran
around Avon Mountain to Tariffville, turning south through West Simsbury through
what is now Stratton Brook State Park to Collinsville where it then
turned northwest out to Winsted. The Farmington
River Trail (See; Farmington
River Rail Trail Letterbox ) follows this abandoned rail line from
Farmington
, through Unionville,
Collinsville
, passes through
Stratton
Brook
State Park
and connects into the middle section of the Farmington Valley Greenway in
Simsbury
. Two more Letterboxes are located along the Farmington Valley Greenway in
Avon
and
Farmington
. See; Farmington
Valley Greenway Letterbox and Farmington
Canal Heritage Trail
Letterbox. For more information visit; STRATTON
BROOK SP , FARMINGTON
VALLEY GREENWAY and EAST COAST
GREENWAY .
Starting from
Stratton
Brook
State Park
; From the parking lot, locate the red
covered bridge that crosses over Stratton Brook. The stone dust trail
passes in front of this bridge. You may cross the bridge for picnic tables and a
pavilion. There is also a swimming pond near the parking lots. Head left (East)
to access the Farmington Valley Greenway and right (west) for the Stratton
Brook Spur Trail Letterbox.
Heading west
along the trail, Massacoe Pond followed by Stratton Brook
will be along your left. After a ¼ mile the trail ends at
Stratton Brook Road
. A short on-road section begins along
Town Forest Road
, just past a small parking lot to your left.
Town Forest Road
is a very lightly traveled town road, mainly used by the
Simsbury
Public Works Dept. Less then a mile down this road you will come to Town
Forest Park. There is a small swimming pond and a bridge over the old
railroad trestle here. When the paved road turns to gravel, look to your left
for a stone-dust trail as it heads up towards a ball field. Follow this trail,
keeping to the right of the ball field, where it then heads into the woods. The
trail is very shaded and has a slight uphill grade. You'll cross over a small
berm, where the trail drops off on both sides. When the slope starts to rise
above you on your right, look for a Pine tree along the right side of the trail
and then a second Pine tree. You'll know it’s the right tree if you spot a
two-trunked tree next to the left side of the trail opposite it. You've
gone too far if you come to a dirt path off the left side of the trail. This is
the 1.5 mile mark. Standing in front of the Pine tree, look up the slope just to
the right of this tree. About 30 feet up the slope, just past two smaller trees,
will be a large
Hickory
or Oak tree. Head up the slope along the left side of the Pine tree where it's
not as steep. At the trees base, under some sticks, is the Stratton Brook
Spur Trail Letterbox. The trail continues for another ½ mile and ends at
West Mountain Road
.
Heading East from Stratton Brook SP,
the trail runs between the swimming pond to your left and Stratton Brook
to your right. After about a ¼ mile the trail crosses over Stratton Brook
and heads straight and level through a thickly covered forest, finally ending at
Route 167 after a mile. Take a left down the sidewalk and cross over Route 309
at the cross walk. Go right and follow the trail as it runs alongside Routes 309
and 167. Keep an eye out after about a ½ mile to the opposite side of the road
to spot an historic brownstone building called Hop Brook Tavern. You will
soon approach the junction of Route 10, where a cross-light takes you over to
the Farmington Valley Greenway at 1 ¾ miles. You can then head north or
south along the Greenway. See; Farmington
Valley Greenway Letterbox for directions.