Hartland is number 12 in my quest to visit every town in CT.
Hartland has 1,901 human souls within its borders, making it the last of the sub-2000 towns. Hartland was established in 1761, and covers 33.03 square miles.
The only thing I could find to do in town was to hike the Falls Brook Trail. The trailhead is not marked, but there is a parking area by the side of Morrison Hill Road (Rt 20). It doesn’t seem like it gets a lot of visitors. In fact, I was the only person there on a beautiful Sunday morning. And yet, they have recently build a nice bridge over one section of stream on the way to Falls Brook.
The brook is basically a trickle right now, so the first cascade I came to was a little underwhelming, but still pretty.
A little further down there is a another little section of cascade, which I’m sure is very nice in early spring, or after some vigorous rainfall.
Once you pass these two cascades, the trail crosses the stream and proceeds down the other side for a while. Once you cross the stream, the trail appears surprisingly untrodden. I would go so far as to call that part of the trail a little challenging. Not in a strenuous way, but in a “where am I going to put my feet next” kind of way.
Finally we cross back over and reach the lower falls! I can barely contain my excitement!
Aaaand, here it is. I may have to come back and check it out next year, because it looks like it’s probably pretty great under the right conditions.
I have to admit, I was tempted to take THE VERBOTEN WAY. There’s supposed to be another waterfall a little further down. Perhaps if the stream were running at something approaching full force, I might have decided to be a desperado and step foot on the forbidden path.
The rules I set for this project dictate that I’m supposed to find something to eat in town, as well as some activity or point of interest. There is one (and only one) place in town to buy food. There’s no country store, no little breakfast nook, but there is The Coach Stop. Unfortunately, they are only open for dinner, and that didn’t really work for me. Perhaps some day, if I ever do eat there, I’ll edit this posting. But until then, I’m ignoring the rules.
Unless those rules happen to be crudely written on a sign in the woods.
Bonus: I found a little hitchhiker when I got home. Even with all the hiking I do, I think I’ve only managed to pick up two ticks over the years. I guess I’ve just been lucky.
