Lovers Leap is a state park in Connecticut that is small in size but huge in local historical ruins.
I was told that Lovers Leap was a small park and the only reason to visit was to take a nice photo of the beautiful and historic red iron bridge. Sure, the park isn't huge size wise, but somehow all these people seem to have failed to mention that plethora of ruins at the site. I think a lot of people just don't explore very much! The bridge is great though, definitely don't want to miss out on that!
The main vista is located just a few minutes up the trail from the bridge. This wonderful outcropping of rock forms a cliff with a perfect view over the water. It was full of people when we arrived though and seems to be a popular area. From what we saw these two sites were all that most people were checking out and we found ourselves joined by only the occasional person at the others.
A very quick walk up the hill from the main vista take you to "the castle", a small stone structure located right across the trail from a more modern looking chimney. Justu p the path from this are the remains of a large foundation and wall labeled as "the tea house" on the map. I could not find the history of these buildings anywhere online. This area hosts lots of industrial era ruins and has many conflicting stories.
If you want to enjoy the view with a little more solitude you can hike to the pinnacle of the park. This higher view of the same stretch of water is impressive for it's low altitude and took very little time to reach. Unlike the main vista almost no one comes here so you will probably have the entire view to yourself. The other features are located on trails before the red bridge on either side of the trail.
The "Indian spring house" is certainly not indian in nature but it does have an actual spring running inside of it. I could not enter as the ground was completely muddy and it didn't look particularly safe inside. this takes less than 2 minutes to hike to from the main trail. You can follow the trail further for views of the water up close as well.
The most interesting area for me is the ruins of a factory, where they ground quartz into a durable wood finish. You have to take the trail under the main road alongside the river to reach these. There are quite a large number of stone walls, extending even down into the river. There is also what appears to be a small furnace in the upper section. This park is another excellent display of CT history!
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