Devil's Hopyard State Park features a large network of forested trails alongside the federally designated wild and scenic Eightmile River. One of the parks prominent natural features is the scenic 60 ft high Chapman Falls, a short distance from parking and picnic areas, along with a covered bridge, many scenic viewpoints, and wildlife viewing areas.
Six blazed trail loops of a range of difficulty and distance are accessible within the forests of Devil's Hopyard. There is beautiful and popular vista at the southern end of main section of the park. The Orange-blazed trail, one of the most popular routes, offers some challenging rocky climbs, but a beautiful vista view. The Blue loop connects to the white trail and offers an up close view of the waterfall.
A short walk from the main parking area off of Hopyard Road and upper parking on Foxtown Road lead the to beautful and scenic Chapman Falls. The section of the park located west of Hopyard Road offer a range of longer and more challenging hiking trails, including the Millington Trail (red blazes), Woodcutters Trail (purple blazes), Witch Hazel Trail (yellow blazes) and blue blazed loops.
In 1919, the former State Park and Forest Commission obtained an 860 acre parcel located in the Millington section of Haddam. The principle feature of the park, Chapman Falls drops more than sixty feet over a series of steps in a Scotland Schist stone formation. The falls also once powered "Beebe's Mills" which were named after the original owner. The mills operated until the mid 1890's.
A search for the origin of the name "Devil's Hopyard" reveals a wide variety of different stories; none of them are verifiable and all are likely to be more fiction than fact. One of the most popular of these stories is about a man named Dibble, who had a garden for growing hops used in the brewing of beer. It seems that through usage, Dibble's Hopyard became Devil's Hopyard. There are records of several farmers having hopyards in the area, but there is no mention of a landowner named Dibble. However, Dibble might have been a tenant.
Another tale focuses on the potholes near the falls, which are some of the finest examples of pothole stone formations in this section of the country. Perfectly cylindrical, they range from inches to several feet in diameter and depth. These potholes were formed by stones moved downstream by the current and trapped in an eddy where the stone was spun around and around, wearing a depression in the rock. When the rock wore itself down, another would catch in the same hole and enlarge it. We know this now, but to the early settlers the potholes were a great mystery that they tried to explain with references to the supernatural. They thought that the Devil has passed by the falls, accidentally getting his tail wet. This made him so mad he burned holes in the stones with his hooves as he bounded away.
This park is managed by the following CT DEEP Park Headquarters:
Take Exit 7, then a left at the end of the exit ramp onto CT Route 82 East/154 North. Take a right at the first traffic light following CT Route 82 east and follow the signs.
Take Exit 80 west. Take a right onto CT Route 82 west. Take a right onto Hopyard Road and follow signs.
Take Exit 22, for Route 9 South, Exit 7. Take a left at the end of the exit ramp onto CT Route 82 east/154 North. Take a right at the first traffic light following CT Route 82 east and follow the signs.
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