Exploring Mansfield Hollow Dam By Allison Pinski

This past weekend, Anna and I visited Susan at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, CT. One stop we made was at the Mansfield Hollow State Park, a long walk between a beautiful body of water with plenty of greenery and a small airstrip. From the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection: “The damming of the Natchaug River by the Army Corps of Engineers has created a 500-acre lake for boating and fishing. No swimming is allowed since part of the lake is used for public water supply. Mansfield Hollow was established as a park in 1952.”

There are several more trails deeper into the park on the right side, but we only explored the main trail.

It was an easy walk along the path, filled with families, children, and an avid mother with a stroller who nearly pushed us off the path.

We posted some of our pictures below, but it was definitely more spectacular in person.

How else would we travel to the park but in a convertible? (Courtesy of Madison, Susan’s roommate.)

This is the trail to the Dam. I found it interesting how the field was divided in half between the airspace (on the left side) and the lake (on the right side).

Here’s a picture of the lake. There were people kayaking, and it was an incredible blue color (even more so in person, but of course the camera never picks that up).

Here’s the small airstrip (we saw a plane taking off, it’s functional!). It was strange how close the path was to the strip, and how many planes were even on the strip (there were so many parked further down, not pictured.)


Definitely a fun day trip to the outdoors-inclined folks, but remember sunblock, snacks, and water, because once you start exploring, you're not going to want to leave.