Mattatuck State Forest

Mattatuck State Forest

Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Mattatuck State Forest (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Connecticut, United States
Coordinates	41°38′34″N 73°06′02″W / 41.64278°N 73.10056°W / 41.64278; -73.10056^[1]
Area	4,673 acres (18.91 km²)^[2]
Elevation	594 ft (181 m)^[1]
Established	1926^[3]
Governing body	Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Website	Mattatuck State Forest

Mattatuck State Forest is a Connecticut state forest spread over twenty parcels in the towns of Waterbury, Plymouth, Thomaston, Watertown, Litchfield, and Harwinton.^[4] The Naugatuck River runs through a portion of the forest. The largest section of the forest is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Waterbury. The Leatherman's Cave, named after the vagabond Leatherman of the late 19th century, is located in Thomaston near the Mattatuck Trail, 1/4 mile west of the junction with the Jericho Trail.^[3]

Recreation opportunities[edit]

The forest is crossed by several Blue-Blazed Trails including the Jericho Trail, Hancock Brook Trail, and Whitestone Cliffs Trail.

Trails in the forest on the west side of Connecticut Route 8 include the following:

The 3.4-mile Jericho Trail, which runs from Echo Lake Road in Watertown to the junction of the Mattatuck Trail, just west of Crane's Overlook and the Rock Hou^[5]
Most of the 0.8-mile Branch Brook Trail is located in the forest, south of Reynolds Bridge Road in the town of Watertown.

Trails in the forest on the east side of Route 8 include the following:

The 2.8-mile Hancock Brook Trail, which parallels the Waterbury Branch of Metro North.
The 1.7-mile Whitestone Cliffs Trail, located off Connecticut Route 262.

The following trails are located on both sides of Connecticut Route 8:

The 1.6-mile long Jericho-Whitestone Connector runs from Connecticut Route 262 to the Whitestone Cliffs Trail on the east side of Connecticut Route 8 in the towns of Thomaston and Plymouth.
The Jericho-Whitestone Connector enters the forest north of the powerlines near Echo Lake Road in Watertown where it ends at the Jericho Trail.

The Mattatuck Trail traverses several blocks of the forest:

In Plymouth, on the east side of Connecticut Route 8, the trail passes along an isolated block of the forest south of Scott Road, and another section south of Lake Plymouth extending to Mount Tobe Road.
In Thomaston, on the east side of Connecticut Route 8, from Carter Road to Waterbury Road.
In Watertown, on the west side of Connecticut Route 8, the trail passes by the highway, just south of Reynolds Bridge Road and extends to Bidwell Hill Road, where the trail enters the Black Rock State Park.

The Whitestone rock climbing area is within the largest section of forest just east of the Naugatuck River. Top-roping techniques are used for heights of about 50 feet (15 m). Trail access is from South Street.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Mattatuck State Forest". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee (January 23, 2014). "State Parks and Forests: Funding" (PDF). Staff Findings and Recommendations. Connecticut General Assembly. p. A-2. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Connecticut State Forests Seedling Letterbox Series - Clues for Mattatuck State Forest". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
^ "Mattatuck State Forest". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
^ <Connecticut Walk Book 16th edition/ref>

External links[edit]

Mattatuck State Forest Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Mattatuck State Forest Map (Thomaston, Watertown) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

v t e Protected areas of Connecticut
National Park Service	Weir Farm National Historical Park
National Wildlife Refuges	Silvio O. Conte Stewart B. McKinney
National Trails	Appalachian Trail New England National Scenic Trail Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Ashaway River Eightmile River Farmington River Green Fall River Housatonic River Pawcatuck River Salmon Brook Shunock River Wood River
State Parks	Above All Air Line Beaver Brook Becket Hill State Park Reserve Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument Bennett's Pond Bigelow Hollow Black Rock Bluff Point Bolton Notch Brainard Homestead Burr Pond Camp Columbia Campbell Falls Chatfield Hollow Collis P. Huntington Connecticut Valley Railroad Dart Island State Park Day Pond Dennis Hill Devil's Hopyard Dinosaur Eagle Landing Farm River Farmington Canal Fort Griswold Battlefield Fort Trumbull Gardner Lake Gay City George Dudley Seymour George Waldo Gillette Castle Haddam Island Haddam Meadows Haley Farm Hammonasset Beach Harkness Memorial Haystack Mountain Higganum Reservoir Hop River State Park Trail Hopemead Hopeville Pond Horse Guard Housatonic Meadows Humaston Brook Hurd Indian Well John A. Minetto Kent Falls Kettletown Killingly Pond Lake Waramaug Lamentation Mountain Larkin State Park Trail Lovers Leap Macedonia Brook Machimoodus Mansfield Hollow Mashamoquet Brook Mianus River Millers Pond Minnie Island Mohawk Mountain Mono Pond Moosup Valley State Park Trail Mooween Mount Bushnell Mount Riga Mount Tom Old Furnace Osbornedale Penwood Platt Hill Pomeroy Putnam Memorial Quaddick Quinebaug Lake Quinnipiac River River Highlands Rocky Glen Rocky Neck Ross Pond Salt Rock State Campground Satan's Kingdom State Recreation Area Scantic River Selden Neck Seth Low Pierrepont Sherwood Island Silver Sands Sleeping Giant Southford Falls Squantz Pond Stillwater Pond Stoddard Hill Stratton Brook Sunnybrook Sunrise Talcott Mountain Tri-Mountain Trout Brook Valley Wadsworth Falls West Rock Ridge Wharton Brook Whittemore Glen Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail Windsor Meadows Wooster Mountain
State Forests	Algonquin American Legion Centennial Watershed Cockaponset Enders James L. Goodwin Housatonic Massacoe Mattatuck Meshomasic Mohawk Mohegan Nassahegon Natchaug Nathan Hale Naugatuck Nehantic Nepaug Nipmuck Nye-Holman Pachaug Paugnut Paugussett People's Pootatuck Quaddick Salmon River Shenipsit Topsmead Tunxis Wyantenock
Wildlife Management Areas	Aldo Leopold WMA Assekonk WMA Babcock Pond WMA Barber Pond WMA Barn Island WMA Bartlett Brook WMA Bear Hill WMA Belding WMA Bishops Swamp WMA Black Pond WMA Candlewood Hill WMA Cedar Swamp WMA Charles E. Wheeler WMA Cromwell Meadows WMA Durham Meadows WMA East River Marsh WMA East Swamp WMA Eightmile River WMA Franklin Swamp WMA Goshen WMA Great Harbor WMA Higganum Meadows WMA Housatonic River WMA King's Island Coop WMA Kollar WMA Larson Lot WMA Little River Fish and Wildlife Area Lord's Cove WMA Maromas Coop WMA Meadow Brook WMA Menunketesuck WMA Messerschmidt WMA Newgate WMA Nod Brook WMA Nott Island WMA Pease Brook WMA Plum Bank WMA Quinebaug River WMA Quinnipiac River Marsh WMA Ragged Rock WMA Raymond Brook Marsh WMA Robbins Swamp WMA Roger Tory Peterson Wildlife Area Roraback WMA Rose Hill WMA Ross Marsh WMA Salmon River Cove and Haddam Neck WMA Sessions Woods WMA Simsbury WMA Skiff Mountain Coop WMA James V. Spignesi WMA Stanley Works WMA Suffield WMA Talbot WMA Tankerhoosen WMA Wangunk Meadows WMA Wopowog WMA Zemko Pond WMA
Reservoirs	Aspetuck Reservoir Barkhamsted Reservoir Beaver Dam Lake Candlewood Lake Easton Reservoir Far Mill Reservoir Hemlock Reservoir Hop Brook Lake Lake Lillinonah Mansfield Hollow Lake Means Brook Saugatuck Reservoir Trap Falls Reservoir West Hartford Reservoir West Pequonnock Reservoir Lake Zoar
Private	Aspetuck Land Trust Aton Forest Audubon Center at Bent of the River Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens Bear Mountain Beckley Bog Branford Land Trust Case Mountain Cathedral Pines Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield Connecticut College Arboretum Devil's Den Preserve Earthplace Great Mountain Forest Higby Mountain Highstead Arboretum Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust McLean Game Refuge New Canaan Nature Center Peter's Rock Pine Mountain Reserve Saltonstall Mountain Stamford Museum & Nature Center Steep Rock Association Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust White Memorial Foundation Woodcock Nature Center Yale-Myers Forest
Trails	American Legion State Forest Trails Aspetuck Valley Trail Blue-Blazed Trails Chatfield Trail Hancock Brook Trail Housatonic Range Trail Lillinonah Trail Mattabesett Trail Menunkatuck Trail Metacomet Trail Narragansett Trail Natchaug Trail Naugatuck Trail Nehantic Trail Nipmuck Trail Paugussett Trail Pequot Trail Quinnipiac Trail Regicides Trail Salmon River Trail Shenipsit Trail Tunxis Trail Westwoods Trails Whitestone Cliffs Trail Zoar Trail
Nature centers	List of nature centers in Connecticut
Local Government Forest/Parks	Bear Mountain Reservation Beardsley Park Burr Farm Protected Open Space East Rock Park Gurski Farm Protected Open Space Happy Landings Protected Open Space Lighthouse Point Park Lillinonah Woods Mill River Park Old Bridge Sanctuary Pleasure Beach Roosevelt Forest Salt Meadow Park Seaside Park Webb Mountain Discovery Zone Webb Mountain Park
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

v t e Hiking trails in Connecticut
Airline Alain and May White American Legion Appalachian Arthur A. Harris Aspetuck Valley Bigelow Hollow Case Mountain Charter Oak Greenway Chatfield Cockaponset East Coast Greenway Falls Brook Farmington Canal Heritage Gay City Hancock Brook Hop River Housatonic Range Iron Jericho Kettletown Lillinonah Lone Pine Macedonia Brook Mattabesett Mattatuck McLean Game Refuge Menunkatuck Metacomet Mohawk Moosup Valley Muir Narragansett Natchaug Naugatuck Nayantaquit Nehantic New England Nipmuck Old Furnace Pachaug Paugussett Peoples Pequot Pine Knob Pomperaug Quinebaug Quinnipiac Ragged Mountain Regicides Salmon River Saugatuck Shenipsit Sleeping Giant Still River Greenway Stony Creek Quarry Sunny Valley Preserve Tunxis Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Westwoods Whitestone Cliffs Williams Wolcott Zoar

Recreation opportunities[edit]

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]