Belden Forest

Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury is a hopping place! This busy thoroughfare has a bit of everything - groceries, coffee shops, baked goods, wine, jewelry - and you will even find a forest where you can forget the hustle and bustle and enjoy a peaceful walk among giant pines.

We started on the first trail we saw and quickly ran into a "No Trespassing" sign.  We decided to walk little farther and see if we could find another trail, but ended up on a street. The trail wasn't on my Runkeeper app, but thankfully our friend Judy checked Alltrails.com and found it there. I downloaded the app and, muttering apologies to unseen homeowners, we traipsed through a back yard and found our way to the trail.

This was a nice trail, carpeted with pine needles. The height of the trees was amazing, and I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture that showed them reaching toward the sky. After a few minutes I was surprised to hear a siren, forgetting that we were in the midst of Simsbury.

We saw some interesting fungi along the way

Just as one can see shapes in the clouds, in the fungus we saw a golf ball, a flower, and a donut!

The trail looped around and we ended where we should have began and came face to face with a nice big sign that we missed when we started.  I felt a little silly having missed it, until we reached the bottom of the hill. There I realized that it is barely visible from the parking lot.

A nearby bench was the perfect place for our devotional time.

John 10:27 "My sheep listen to my voice; and I know them, and they follow me." 

Today we have the luxury of listening to the radio through apps on our smartphones, but there was a time when getting good reception on an AM radio station took some finagling. We would walk around the house pointing the radio this way and that trying to get a good signal. Sometimes we either had to settle with the static, crackles and whistles that accompany a weak signal or give up and turn the radio off.

Sometimes the voice of our Savior can be drowned out by the static of living in a fallen world. And when we get frustrated we are tempted to give up listening. But Jesus promises that we can recognize his voice. Scripture encourages us to tune in to Him and and eagerly listen for Him. We need to make every effort to keep the distractions of the world turned down in order to clearly hear His divine voice. Being in the wilderness or on the trail is a great way to be in touch with God because it lacks those worldly distractions. But even when we can't get to the mountains we can make sure we are tuning in to Jesus, being attentive to what God has to say, and keeping our minds clear so that we can hear His voice.

This was a short hike, so a few of us decided to cross the street and head to the Farmington Canal Trail on Iron Horse Boulevard. Just across from Jim Gallagher Way we found another trail, walked just a few minutes and came to an enchanted path.


After a few minutes more the trail narrowed and, not in the mood for bushwhacking, we turned around and took a brisk walk on the trail beside Iron Horse Boulevard.

While Belden Forest is a small trail, it's a nice oasis to visit when you have a limited amount of time. According to Peter Marteka, the yellow-blazed trail takes you to the top of a ridge where you can view the town. We missed this view, so I'm sure there's more to explore at Belden Forest.

Boy Scout Hall

Address:  Boy Scout Hall, 695 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury - Entrance is directly opposite Drake Hill Road. Park to the right of the Boy Scout Hall


The trail begins on top of the little hill to the right of this building.

Runkeeper Route: https://runkeeper.com/user/SusanGayle/route/4440621

Length: 1.37 miles

Duration: 1 hour,

Difficulty level: easy

Massacoe State Forest - Great Pond Block

If you're looking for a peaceful walk surrounded by beauty, this is it. No hiking equipment is necessary to enjoy the lush environs at Great Pond. I love the hush of entering the forest on a path carpeted with pine needles, and after the barrenness of winter, the new growth surrounding us was a welcome sight.

Giant white pines tower over the younger trees that fringe this trail.

This pathway lined with rhododendrons promises to be stunning when in bloom, and the mountain laurel was abundant.

We took a right turn to walk by the pond, then headed south and did two loops through the woods, returning us to the pond.

A popular site for bird watchers. In the summer, blooming water lilies will be plentiful.

At this point we needed to make a decision. We could take the trail south, cross the street and explore Wagner Woods, but rain was in the forecast. I don't mind getting wet when it's 80 degrees, but wet weather in the 40s is a different story. As we were discussing our options, one little drop of rain landed on my forehead, and we decided to head back to our cars and have our devotional time.

Isaiah 55:9

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 

When hiking at a high altitude, I glanced down and noticed the small speck of a car moving down a pencil-thin highway. But the highway was blocked at a bend in the road by a fallen tree. They couldn’t see it, but I could. I could have helped them find a detour around the trouble if only they would look up and follow my directions. 

This birds-eye view of our lives is exactly the view God has. He can see the whole of our lives, knows where we are in our journey, and He knows precisely where we need to go. We can’t see where our trails and trials will ultimately lead, nor can we see all the dangers that await us or the detours that will help us skirt those dangers. All we can do is keep our eyes and hearts on God, and wait for His guidance.

It’s comforting to know that God sees the whole of my life. His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts. If we will trust in Him we can rejoice, even in the darkest hour, knowing that He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman.)

At the closing of the devotional, the raindrops started splotching here and there, and on the drive home the rain was falling. I was glad I heeded that one little drop of warning, and it made me smile to think of how it interlaced with our devotional. Sometimes we're tempted to ignore the signs warning us that we're on the wrong path. We want to barge ahead with our own plans without spending time in prayer and heeding wise counsel. Life doesn't always go as we planned, but we can trust God with the assurance that His ways are higher than ours, that He has a plan and a purpose and, as Romans 8:28 tells us, all things work together for good to them that love God.

Our route can be viewed in detail at: https://runkeeper.com/user/ValleyHikers/activity/753643453?tripIdBase36=cgp70d&activityList=false&

Address: Great Pond Road, Simsbury (east of Linda Lane on the north side of the road)

Trail map: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/stateparks/maps/massacoe.pdf

Length: 2.75 miles

Duration: 1 hour, 12 minutes

Calories burned: 243

Difficulty level: easy

Marion Wilcox Park

It was a breezy and chilly 43 degrees, but once we were on the trail, we could forget the cold and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.

Although parking is available at Marion Wilcox Park, we began our hike at the northern boundary of Penwood State Park so we could start our hike with a climb. We ascended the trail, and in less than 15 minutes we reached the first glorious lookout.

We continued on, planning to take the yellow trail, but missed it entirely because we were gazing at this view:

The blue trail meets yellow again farther down the path, so this was just a little route change. However, when we reached that point we were again distracted by another view :)

We decided to explore further and were rewarded with vistas both to the west and to the east:

We turned around, backtracked a little, and spied a blaze through the trees. We left the beaten path and improvised a short tramp through the woods to reach the trail.


It's hard to describe the tranquility experienced in the middle of the woods on a crisp fall day. With the occasional gust of wind, the leaves would slowly float down. It's an atmosphere that calms the soul.

We reached a beautiful meadow and found a good place to have our devotions at a picnic table in the sun. This was near the Marion Wilcox Park parking lot (and a convenient port-a-potty).

Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Hikers often choose to sleep in the outdoors, forgoing the warmth, protection and comforts of home and sleeping on the cold hard ground. God longs for us to dwell in His house, but sometimes we choose to run to the forest instead. Living without faith and ignoring the promises of God, we disobey His word, usually because we've confused instant gratification with true joy. Leaving His protection invites eternal consequences. If you're out in the cold, ominous forest of spiritual rebellion, return to Jesus. (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman)

We moved on, ready to pick up the yellow trail which leads back to the blue and thus to our starting point. We almost missed this. We did miss the first barely visible blaze (seen below on the left - it was spied by the last in our group after we turned) and because the path wasn't clear, we weren't sure it was really a path. But it turned out to be a fun path with a mild ascent.

As we headed back to our cars, we remarked that we enjoyed this hike very much. With the combination of my companions, the views, the gently falling leaves, and the vibrant colors, this is a hike that made my heart sing!

Our route as logged by GPS via Runkeeper

Online Map

Address for GPS: 22 Wintonbury Road, Simsbury, CT - There is room for several cars to park where the road dead ends. Take the blue-blazed trail to the north.

Trail Map: https://skizilla.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/wilcox-park-trail-map1.pdf and also wintonburylandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/HikeInfo.doc

Length: 3.10 miles

Duration: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Calories burned: 600

Difficulty level: moderate