A site of historical importance and an awesome hike with ruins to discover. What more could you ask for?
When I first started researching all the trails I wanted to explore in Connecticut, the Mine Hill preserve in Roxbury CT stood out to me. Full of history, historic ruins and caves, this place is something special. Even if you don't want to hike most of the ruins are located only seconds from the parking lot and are soooo worth a visit. The main trail itself goes up the mountain and loops around and is moderate.
At the site of the ruins you will find wooden markers to help you picture the outskirts of the wooden structure that fill the location you are walking. In fact, at the southern most section is an information board with a drawing of the building so you can visualize it better. I included this in my video and it really is fascinating to think how this one building covered the entire site!
The blast furnace itself is the most impressive structure in the area. It was restored in the late 70's/early 80's and is the best conditioned blast furnace that I've personally seen. This entire operation was an iron mining and ore processing operation that was the main business of the area.
We spent a good deal of time here taking photos since I love historical sites. Since the main loop trail actually comes back through the ruins on your return it might be a good idea to skip them and head up the hill first, visiting this area last as a bit of a reward for your hike!
The hike itself starts with a gentle climb up the mountain. This mostly gravel path only gets steep in one area near the end and is otherwise very easy. We stopped at the intersection of the nature trail where there is a bench by a small pond. The trail down the other side of the mountain is much rougher until you once again return to a gravel path before a flat return.
There are two cave entrances on the way up the mountain. Both are gated off both for safety and the protection of bats. Like many cave systems in America, there is a strong push to protect bats from white nose syndrome. This fungal disease, first recognized in New York, has been responsible for killing millions of bats and sometimes wipes out 90-100% of bats in the colonies it infects. Since the spores last a significant amount of time on your clothes and hiking gear, please don't take barred off caves for granted and enter them illegally.
The first cave can be found before the steep incline on the gravel trail. It will be located on your left and was the source of a small stream flooding the path. It's located in a gully a ways back so you may pass by without noticing it if you aren't careful. This small door way is the larger of the two mine cave entrances but you would still have to stoop over to use it.
The second entry way is at the top of the hill and is much smaller. This very low to the ground entrance would have to be crawled into and is also barred off. It is much more hidden but is located slightly to your left when you crest the hill after the first cave entrance.
The other notable feature of this hike are the bat cages located on top of the mine hill. There are 4, with 3 located quite close to each other. The first 3 are hard to miss since they are directly on the hiking trail. These cover some pretty deep mine shafts and double as a safety feature, lest you fall down them.
And as you can see from the photo... you really wouldn't want to fall down one of these. Even with a flash I wasn't able to see to the bottom. I couldn't find online how deep they go but I'm betting it's not insignificant.
We also noticed an interesting feature on top of two of the cages. It looks like a small doorway with a bar over head. We figure it might be used by scientists to repel down into the caves for bat studies. If you have any more information on the area please feel free to comment on my youtube channel as I find this entire area and its history fascinating.
The cave entrances and mine shafts can all be found on the official Roxbury Mine Hill Preserve map to give you a pretty good idea where they are located. It seemed like more than a few people turned around after the third mine shaft and returned down the trail rather than complete it.
The 4th and final bat cage is located further up the trail than the first 3 and is located a bit off the main trail. You can still see it from the trail so just stay vigilant and look to your right. This one is set super low to the ground and the grate is tight so it is very difficult to see down into this one unfortunately.
The rest of the trail will be rocky and rough until you emerge near the remains of a stone quarry. The gravel path picks up again here and heads back to the furnace site. You will pass farm fields and walk alongside a small river and we were only joined by 2 other people for this portion of the hike.
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