Bigelow Hollow State Park

State Park · Union, Connecticut

Three thousand acres of hemlock, white pine and hardwood in the far northeast corner of Connecticut, wrapped around two lakes, and about as close to wilderness as this state gets. Bigelow Hollow State Park runs into the much larger Nipmuck State Forest and together they hold Bigelow Pond, Mashapaug Lake and Breakneck Pond - the last of which is the reason to come, a long narrow undeveloped pond you can only reach on foot, with no houses, no road and no noise. Union is the least populated town in Connecticut, with a few hundred residents, and it shows: the trails are quiet even on an October weekend and the forest is genuinely old in places. There is a boat launch on Mashapaug, good trout and bass fishing, and the state forest trail network links onward for miles. It is the emptiest thing in this whole Connecticut set. Phone signal is poor to none across most of it and the trail junctions are faintly marked, so this is the one park here where a paper map is not a precaution but a requirement.

174 Route 171, Union, Union, Connecticut, 06076, United States

Open daily year round from around eight to sunset. Parking is charged in season at the main lot, with a higher rate for out-of-state vehicles, and is generally free off season. The boat launch is open in season. Trails are unmarked in places, are not cleared in winter and there is no lighting. There is no camping within the park itself.

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