Mohawk State Forest
41°48′37″N 73°17′48″W / 41.81028°N 73.29667°W / 41.81028; -73.29667[1]
Mohawk State Forest, also known as Mohawk State Forest/Mohawk Mountain State Park, encompasses over 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) in the towns of Cornwall, Goshen, and Litchfield in the southern Berkshires of Litchfield County, Connecticut. As overseen by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the area is used for hiking, picnicking, and winter sports by the public,[3] while being actively managed to produce timber and other forest products.[4]
History
The forest bears the name of the Mohawk Indians, although the tribe did not live in the area. Historians believe the Tunxis and Paugussett used the mountain peak for signal fires that warned neighboring communities further south that Mohawks were approaching from the northwest.[4]
Mohawk is the sixth oldest forest in the Connecticut state forest system. The forest's first five woodland acres were donated to the Connecticut State Park Commission by Andrew Clark in 1917 and were known as Mohawk Mountain Park until the 1920s.[5] In 1921, Alain C. White donated another 250 acres with the White Memorial Foundation contributing a total of more than 2,900 acres (1,200 ha) of land.[3]
Crews of Civilian Conservation Corps workers were active in the forest during the 1930s. Their work included the construction of roads that remain in use, the planting of hundreds of acres of trees, and the creation of breaks for fire control.[4]
Points of interest
- Black Spruce Bog
One of the few bogs in the state, the 19-acre Black Spruce Bog is considered an outstanding example of a late stage peat bog.[6] Plants such as sheep laurel, leatherleaf, sphagnum moss, sundew, and pitcher plant are found here, with white pine, black spruce, eastern hemlock, and tamarack comprising the overstory. The bog is accessed via a boardwalk designed to minimize the impact of visitors.[3]
- Cunningham Tower
An old, gutted stone tower stands along a trail in the northern section of the forest. It was constructed by Litchfield resident Seymour Cunningham after he bought land for sheep farming on Mohawk Mountain in 1912.[5]
- Mohawk Mountain
Mohawk Mountain (elev. 1683 feet) is the highest point on the blue-blazed Mattatuck Trail. The summit offers views of the Taconic Mountains and Berkshire Mountains to north and northwest including Bear Mountain, Canaan Mountain, and Cream Hill in Connecticut as well as peaks in Massachusetts (Race Mountain, Mount Everett, Mount Greylock) and the eastern Catskills in New York State.
- Mohawk Pond
The southern section of the state forest encompasses Mohawk Pond, a 16-acre kettle pond stocked with trout[4] and noted for largemouth bass.[7] The pond has a maximum depth of 26 feet (8 m), an average depth of 15 feet (4.5 m), and a boat launch on its southern shore.[8]
- Red Mountain
Accessible on foot via the blue-blazed Mohawk Trail (a former alignment of the Appalachian Trail), Red Mountain (elev. 1652 feet) occupies the northernmost section of Mohawk State Forest.[9] Its eastern slope is the site of the Red Mountain Shelter, a log cabin built by CCC crews based in Housatonic State Forest. Due to the shallow bedrock of the peak, the higher elevations of the mountain sport shrubby oak trees and distant vistas.
Activities and amenities
The area offers hiking, picnicking, fishing and youth group camping, opportunities for leaf color viewing in fall, and cross-country skiing in winter. Skiers and snowboarders use the adjacent privately operated Mohawk Mountain Ski Area.[3]
References
- ^ a b "Mohawk State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ State park: 273 acres; state forest: 3743 acres. See "Appendix A: List of State Parks and Forests" (PDF). State Parks and Forests: Funding. Staff Findings and Recommendations. Connecticut General Assembly. January 23, 2014. p. A-2. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Mohawk State Forest/Mohawk Mountain State Park". State Parks and Forests. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. July 18, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Clues for Mohawk State Forest". Connecticut State Forests Seedling Letterbox Series. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. August 2, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Mohawk State Forest". Cornwall Historical Society. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- ^ "Cornwall's Forests". Cornwall Conservation Commission. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- ^ "Connecticut Angler's Guide: Inland & Marine Fishing" (PDF). State of Connecticut. p. 38. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- ^ "Mohawk Pond, Cornwall". Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. April 2, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- ^ "Red Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
External links
- Mohawk State Forest/Mohawk Mountain State Park Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Mohawk State Forest/Mohawk Mountain State Park Map (north) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Mohawk State Forest/Mohawk Mountain State Park Map (south) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- v
- t
- e
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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