Wandering Wads of Wonder
Wadsworth Falls State Park Trails, Middletown & Middlefield
January 2026
The time had finally come for me to properly visit this state park. I’d been poking and prodding at its edges for years; checking out the little covered bridge at the northern entrance, enjoying the Big Wadsworth Falls at the southeastern entrance… but I’d never walked the full park. Until now.
This joint has been a state park since 1942 and is fairly evenly split between Middlefield and Middletown. The “beach” and swimming area is in Middletown. Both waterfalls are in Middlefield. The 4.5 miles of trails are in both. And heck, just for fun, there’s a spur trail that traverses Rockfall Foundation land and another that connects to the beautiful Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate.
Let’s hike.
This is definitely a “create your own hike” park, as it is crisscrossed with seven trails and a few crossovers and even a random squiggly mountain bike path right in the heart of the place. I began at the main parking area near the swimming pond and headed toward my first trail of the day…
Bridge Trail (Purple blazed)
I quickly realized that forgetting my Kahtoolah microspikes wasn’t the best idea. Sections of the trail were covered in ice, but I was generally able to pick my way over it safely. The same can’t be said for the large group of women who looked to be ready to take on the Himalayas… save for their footwear. The iciest part of my entire time hiking here was this first half mile or so, but I don’t think they were willing to push on, which is a shame.
Perhaps because I’m not as smart as those women, I pushed on. Slipping and sliding my way up the Bridge Trail across the northern border of the park. I got a kick out of all the signage here showing the way for motorized wheelchair access. Don’t get me wrong – I love that the state has made it a point to create and maintain woodland paths for wheelchair access, it’s just that on this particular icy day in January, it probably wouldn’t work out so well.
The Bridge Trail continues east to connect with the Wadsworth Estate but just before doing so, crosses that bridge that gives this trail its name.
Wow! This is a beautiful bridge. An absolutely spectacular example of a stone arch bridge. It’s absolutely huge and even has a serpentine quality. It was built of brownstone by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. I wished for a moment I was here in October, as I’m sure it is stunning with the beeches and birches aflame nearby. The stream below has created a rather impressive ravine as it tumbles over small cascades beneath the bridge.
For my money, this bridge is as impressive as either of the waterfalls here… perhaps more so.
I slip-slided my way back across it and onto the…
Laurel Grove Brook Trail (Yellow-blazed)
Ah. So the stream that goes under the bridge is called Laurel Grove Brook. Good to know. This trail takes hikers along about a half mile of it, right alongside the ravine I mentioned above. It is definitely “central Connecticut impressive.”
Since the road opposite this trail is Laurel Brook Road, and that’s the road that takes people to the old Wadsworth estate, I imagine there’s a huge grove of laurel over there. Colonel Clarence S. Wadsworth knew the beauty and the splendor of his land and he spent his life making sure it was preserved for the generations that would follow. We are all fortunate for that.
There’s some sort of pump house or something down near the brook with a rather impressive set of stairs to get down to it. I have no idea how old this structure or the stairs are, but I imagine they’ve both been here for quite some time.
I highly recommend this particular trail, which takes you to the…
Little Falls Trail (blue-blazed)
This trail merely delivered up a hill to the…
Cedar Loop Trail (red-blazed)
Don’t worry, we’ll get back to the blue trail in a few.
This trail runs along the eastern perimeter and seems to be the most experimental in the park. It dodges and weaves and splits with itself a couple times. I have no idea why. They also used a lot of nails on the trail blazes. A lot of nails.
And I kept looking for why the trail split itself, as I did the full circle of the split loop expecting to encounter some epiphany along the way. It was pretty and all, but I can’t recommend one split direction over the other. Maybe one area gets flooded once in a while, I have no idea.
Have I talked about the…
Main Trail (orange-blazed)
yet?
No, I have not. The Main Trail is the main trail here, I guess. It travels the length of the park, essentially from the swimming pond parking lot to the Big Falls lot. (Except it doesn’t, which I’ll address shortly.)
This trail is wide throughout; more like a woods road than a trail. It remains fairly level the entire way as well, but it still has its moments, especially during the stretch where the Coginchaug River is within view.
I made my way down to the other end of the park, passing near the back of a house that sits at the end of Middletown’s Red Road which I’m only mentioning because Red Road is a gateway to one of the wackiest neighborhoods in the entire state. The trail also passes the mountain bike trail and the Little Falls Trail junction.
“Hold on Little Falls, I’ve got to get to the Big Falls first.”
But here’s the thing… this trail walks along some train tracks for a bit before emerging out onto Cherry Hill Road, east of the falls. You must do a short road walk over the top of the falls before descending down the path to the bottom of the falls.
Which is fine, of course, but I’m guessing a lot of folks for whom this barely-more-than-a-mile walk along the Main Trail is a big deal are quite shocked, annoyed, and confused by this. Hopefully, the coolness of the Big Wadsworth Falls counteract any misplaced anger people may have.
These falls, which has also been known as “Rock Falls” or simply “The Falls” over the years,became known as Wadsworth Falls shortly after Col. Wadsworth purchased the property in 1939.
Above the falls are the remains of an old sluiceway or flume that once carried the Coginchaug through the bowels of the Fall Manufacturing Company’s Cotton Factory. Manufacturers at mills along the river produced everything from paper to grist to snuff to cutting nails to buttons to washing machines wringers, gun parts and gunpowder.
Lest you think gun parts and gunpowder weren’t a big deal here in Middlefield, I suggest you take a look at the town’s seal.
These falls are popular for a reason. Well, two reasons I guess: They are quite pretty and they are right next to a road with a dedicated parking lot.
But I walked the length of the park to get here, which means I had to walk back… by using different trails as much as I can. Which meant back across the top of the falls along the road and onto the weirdo spur trail known as…
The Weirdo Spur Trail (yellow-blazed)
This trail travels through a Rockfall Foundation swatch of land. It’s just woods. Right lovely woods, but woods hemmed in by a middle school, railroad tracks, and a road. Let’s get back to the state park already.
Back to the Main Trail for a half-mile of retracing my steps back to the…
Little Falls Trail (blue-blazed)
“I’m back, little guy. Just like I said I would be.”
I must admit some mild shock at the approach trail from the direction I came (from the south).
Granted, conditions during my hike were a mix of ice, snow, slush, and wet making things a dicey but even so, I’m sure that even on a lovely summer’s day some people have difficulty. The trail is steep and has a sheer drop off the falls side. So, you know, be careful.
These falls are stepped. There must be two dozens steps down these falls, and the effect is really cool. To my mind, Little Falls are arguably cooler than the main falls at the park. And check this out: Wadsworth Little Falls is nearly twice as tall as Wadsworth “Big” Falls. The volume of water is certainly less and that’s especially so during seasonal dry spells I’m sure. For structure, this waterfall is composed of about two-dozen small-step plunges, none larger than three feet in height.
I bet these falls are pretty awesome after heavy rains.
But you know what isn’t awesome after heavy rains? The other way into and out of the falls’ viewpoint. The same blue-blazed trail continues along the stream beneath the falls and requires a stream crossing without a bridge. Hopping across icy rocks was even more concerning to me than the walk down the steep trail earlier.
Alas, I survived dry and unscathed and continued on my journey back towards my car along the final stretch of the…
Main Trail (orange-blazed)
There are some sites to be seen on this stretch of the Main Trail closer towards the swimming pond lot. Like a massive laurel tree for one. It looks a little haggard, so I wonder how it looks in bloom in June.
There’s another wonderfully engineered brownstone arch bridge as well. The stonework at this park – and, frankly, anywhere the CCC built stuff, is astonishing. I just love these bridges. In fact, I love them more than covered bridges, which is where I ended my here back at my car.
Wadsworth State Park is a gem. It’s highly accessible (via roads), accessible (to motorized wheelchairs), and very accessible (with relatively easy hiking trails). Two cool waterfalls and bridges, streams, and enough geologic diversity to satisfy everybody.
Thank you, Colonel Wadsworth.
DEEP’s Wadsworth State Park page
CTMQ’s Wadsworth State Park page
CTMQ’s State Parks, Reserves, and Preserves
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