Planted:             October 13, 2000

Length:               Valley Falls Trail: From Manchester (Colonial Road) to Bolton Notch; 6 ¾ miles

                            Church Street to Letterbox; 4 miles

                             Vernon Commons to Letterbox, 4 ¾ miles                           

                            Bolton to Letterbox; ¾ mile or a Drive-by

Difficulty:          Easy. This old rail trail is flat and consists of stone dust.

Directions:

To start from the Church Street parking lot; Take exit 65 off of I-84 in Vernon to Route 30. From the westbound exit take Route 30 west and from the eastbound exit take Route 30 east. Cross over the interstate via the Dobson Bridge which turns into Washington Street. Immediately after crossing the bike path, turn left onto Church Street. The parking lot will be a little ways down on your left. There is a map board here along with a small gazebo and picnic table.

To start from Vernon Commons; Take exit 65 off of I-84 in Vernon to Route 30. Head east on Route 30 and take a right into the Vernon Commons Plaza and park. The trail starts just east of the parking lot where it crosses Route 30.

Bolton Notch parking Lot; There is a parking lot located off of I-384 westbound only. It's tricky to reach though. From Routes 6 & 44 in Bolton Notch, enter I-384 westbound. Just past the "Middle Turnpike" highway sign, look for a brown "Boat Launch" sign on the right. Take this sharp right turn off the highway down a dirt road. This brings you to the parking lot that is located next to the trail as it passes underneath I-384. You may then travel left down the trail through the rock cut for ¾ miles to the small wooden bridge that takes you to Freja Park. It is also possible to drive alongside Bolton Notch Pond and park next to where the trail emerges from the rock cut for a Drive-by. 

Starting from the Church Street parking lot; The 0 mile marker begins from here and continues in both directions (east-west) with a wooden post every ¼ mile.

Heading west, you cross over Washington Street after only a ¼ mile. You then come to some old railroad ties still in place (possibly an old railroad siding) along the right side of the trail. You cross a gas line at 0.6 miles and after 1 ½ miles you cross Taylor Street where the trail narrows and ends at the Manchester town line just shy of 1 ¾ miles. You can continue along the narrow and a bit rougher trail into Manchester where you'll come to the industrial park after 2 ¼ miles. Note the old railroad tracks running along the trail. The trail ends at Colonial Road ahead where you could park to begin the trail.

Heading east, just up the trail is a red signpost (these were supposed to contain history blurbs, but never completed) overlooking some picnic tables and a circular stone foundation that at one time contained a Locomotive Roundhouse. You cross Phoenix Street after only a tenth of a mile. The Rockville Spur Trail heads north from here by turning left; See; Rockville Spur Trail. Continue straight as the trail takes you high along a filled berm with steep drops on either side. Imagine the labor that went into building this for the railroad so as to keep the grade fairly level. Notice also the old wooden telephone poles still standing along the sides. Note that there is a very slight uphill grade traveling towards Bolton, which means an easier ride for the return trip. You cross over Tunnel Road after less then a mile, which, as you can see passes through a tunnel below you. At the 2 mile mark, you'll encounter a bike rack and trail markers. This is where the Valley Falls Park trail crosses and heads up the hill through Mountain Laurel to a scenic overlook. See;  VALLEY FALLS  for more information. Heading down this trail a short ways brings you to a scenic overlook of the pond at Valley Falls, along with some benches. Continuing along the trail you'll pass an old cement mileage marker once used by the railroad. The trail is now built into the hill with steep drops to your left and high rocks to your right. At 2 ½ miles you come to the first of two stone culverts that pass underneath the trail. In the springtime, the streams are quite a site as they run down from the hill above.  At 3 miles, you’ll discover some old railroad ties still lined up, just waiting for some new track. This might have been a railroad siding. You come to the Bolton town line after 3 ½ miles where the wooden mile posts end. As you close in on 3 ¾ miles, you’ll intersect the Railroad Brook, that flows alongside the trail. Signboards describe the brook restoration project that took place here. You come to a  wooden footbridge crossing the stream at the 4 mile mark and a sign that tells about the Railroad Brook Fish Habitat Restoration Project. Hike across this bridge and veer right along the trail. There should be a sign that says "Freja Park-Town of Bolton". Just past this sign, a blue marked trail heads right, up towards a large face of trap rock. The green arrow trail heads left. Follow the blue trail to the base of this trap rock and then bear right, walking 5 or 6 paces (2 steps = 1 pace) along the ledge. You should see a large vein of quartz in the rock. On a ledge just above this, covered by rocks, is the Valley Falls Rail Trail Letterbox. Please be careful of loose rocks as you walk along this ledge. If you would like to extend your trip, the rail trail continues into Bolton Notch, where it becomes the Hop River Rail Trail. The Hop River Rail Trail Letterboxes are located along this trail. Cross the dirt road where the trail passes through a deep rock cut (check this out in the winter when it's full of huge icicles). You come to a parking area just below Bolton Notch that can be accessed off of I-384 westbound. This is just over ¾ miles from the Letterbox. Go just a bit further down the trail to the tunnel underneath I-384. This is another great spot to check out in the winter.