Devil's Hopyard State Park | East Haddam CT

Watch our trail video and then read about our trip below:

Devil's Hopyard holds a special place in my heart, it was one of my mothers favorite places to go for photography and there are more then a few childhood photos of me here. The park includes one waterfall, a few great vistas and the interestingly named "Devil's Oven" cave.

One day is unlikely to be enough to explore all the trails despite the smaller size of this park, but you can see the most popular things in half a day easily.

The Vista

The "Main" trail most people take is the orange vista loop trail. This is a wonderful and well maintained path that takes us to several points of interest. Cross over a covered bridge and the path opens up to a beautiful glade next to the river, which happens to run a brilliant golden red hue. At this point you climb a number of moderately steep, often rocky hills and cross a number of muddy streams. While the Cave is a pain to locate, off the trail and unmarked, you will eventually come to a small rock garden which tells you that you're almost there. The approach to the vista is actually down a hill and then the trail opens to a clearing worth a photo.

Chapman Falls

Once you return on the loop take a right from the bridge and head north. Up just a small flight of stairs you'll find the impressive Chapman falls. Be warned, the falls can turn into a trickle at times so come in the spring or after rain if you want to see them at their best. People often swim in both the bottom and the middle of the falls where there are pools. You can even sit behind the falls at their lowest point on the right hand side. The Northern parking lot is also right next to the falls but is small and fills up quickly so I avoid it, however there is also a tunnel at the top you can check out.