• Green Fall Pond – Pachaug State Forest
• Green Fall Road, Voluntown, CT
• Trailhead: 41°31’22.96″N, 71°48’30.96″W
• Last Time Hiked: August 30, 2014
• Approximate distance hiked: 2.8 miles
• Moderate with rocky footing and root bound trails in areas.
• Difficult and at times challenging in the gorge. Use caution along steep banks.

This would be my first of many planned ventures into the Pachaug State Forest in Eastern Connecticut. Green Fall Pond I found to be one of the more tranquil hikes that I have taken thus far. It was also a perfect summer day. From a parking area on Green Fall Road (not on some GPS units), a fellow hiker and I started by following the blue blazes of the Narragansett Trail into the forest. The immediate first part of this hike is very easy as the trail winds through an area covered with fern. We then came to a rather large cairn. The fairly wide trail that we were following appears to go uphill and into an area of pines. I will refer this trail (which is not shown on the map I’ve linked) as the “high road” aptly dubbed by a fellow blogger (who was ironically here today as well). We would return on that trail. At this point we veered to the right continuing to follow the blue blazes into the gorge. This part of the hike is rather challenging as the trail leads you through an area where you must jump for boulder to boulder, do some rock scaling, and even some little bit of climbing in areas. The Green Fall River runs through the gorge adding some more challenge to the hike. It has been a tremendously dry summer in Southern New England this summer and the river at the time of this hike was almost just a trickle. I did, nonetheless, slip at crossing the river at one point. Good thing for waterproof boots. At the end of the gorge there is a 40 foot high dam. The trail leads you uphill to the right of the dam. From here we got our first glimpse of Green Fall Pond. There is a loop trail that follows the perimeter of the pond that is blazed blue/orange. There are several areas that have scenic views of the pond. We started by going to the right (if you are facing the pond) following the blue/orange blazes. Along this stretch we came across a couple walking their dog and a few people fishing. I chatted briefly with the people fishing. They informed me that there were bass and pikes in the pond but had only caught some sticks thus far. Continuing along the loop trail we saw some chipmunks and squirrels as well as dragonflies and crickets as the trail passed areas of stone walls and an earthen dam that had field like features along the top of it including several shrubs with berries. The blue blazed Narragansett Trail then continued straight. We continued following the blue/orange blazed loop trail the veered off to the left and along the banks of the pond. The trail crossed a small stream at a footbridge before eventually coming to a dirt road at a camp site. The camp site is a “first come first serve” camp and fees are collected in the morning. We turned left onto the road stopping briefly at the beach area. (Swimming is allowed at this beach). Following the road, turning to a paved road and uphill for a bit, we passed the trail heads of both the Pachaug Trail and the Nehantic Trail. We also passed the boat launch for Green Fall Pond and another parking area before we found the sign for the trail to head back into the woods. The trail, still blazed blue/orange, then followed the west shore of the pond. This section of trail was rather rocky and root bound. We found ourselves scaling some rocks in areas here. The trail eventually came back to the dam. We then followed a stone covered road to the right uphill as it arced to the right. Near the top of the hill we took a left onto the trail I referred to earlier as the “high road”. This lead us back to Green Fall Road just to the west of the gorge. It eventually merged with the blue blazed trail. From here we retraced our steps back to the car.

Trail map can be found at: Green Fall Pond.

In The Gorge

Green Fall Pond