Bolton Notch State Park Trail (North)

Cuban Tulips
Tulip Tree Trail, Bolton Notch State Park, Vernon
December 2023

Despite the fact that the opening paragraph will confuse you, this trail is totally worth the effort to find and hike. It is not hard to find, but you have to make a little effort.

The Tulip Tree Trail is a loop through the Northern Breakaway Republic of Bolton Notch State Park, located in southeastern Vernon near Bolton Road. You can get to it from the Bolton Notch lot and approaching from the Hop River Linear Rail Trail; hopping off of it at the blue/yellow blazed Valley Falls Loop Trail, crossing Railroad Brook, walking a bit until you find the distinct Tulip Tree Trail blazes. Or you can do what I did and approach from the Valley Falls Park parking area and hiking south along that same Valley Falls Loop Trail.

I’m sure a third option exists: rogue parking on Bolton Road just north of the Vernon/Bolton town line, but I don’t recommend that. Besides, both pre-hike hikes are nice.

For years, I had no idea that the Tulip Tree Trail even existed. I did everything to do in BNSP: the hikes, the bikes, the cave, the tunnel… and I did everything in Vernon and moved on to other places and things. Then I learned that there’s this 1.25 mile loop with huge tulip trees and a historic quarry in a section of the state park not connected to the state park. A few more years passed before I made the effort to check it out.

I’m glad I did, as it’s a really cool trail. Firstly, tulip trees are always striking to see – though without the giant leaves in December, they weren’t quite as awesome. There appears to be some confusion over the particular trail blazes here. Once I found the trail I simply noted “blue-blaze with red top.” But a prolific hiker and friend of mine, a local who walks along the road to hike this trail sometimes, refered to it thusly in a comment to me:

… The Cuban Flag Trail. I don’t know its official name, but the blazes are blue with red triangles and look like Cuban flags without the white parts. It loops around the southeast part of the park (or maybe the woods near the park) off of the blue and yellow trail. It also comes near Bolton Road, and I’ve figured out that I can walk a half mile down that road from my house, pick up the Cuban Flag Trail, and from there go to Freja Park and Risley Park. That’s what I do when I want a long hike but the weather’s too bad to drive.

My friend’s hike is a good hike and I’ve written several times how you can mix ‘n match here with all the different parks and trail systems. But my friend’s rather creative misinterpretation of the blazes is kind of hilarious when you learn the true intent of the blazes: tulips. Yes. Tulips.

The start of the Tulip Trial is clearly marked with its own tulip tree blaze.

Yes, these blazes are “blue blazes with red tulips painted on top.” I never would have guessed that – but I’d also never have guessed they were “Cuban flags without the white parts” either. I guess I’m just not very visually imaginative.

According to the Bolton Conservation Commission, the idea to create a trail that winds under the tulip trees was sparked when an arborist the area. The commission worked with the Vernon Conservation Commission and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and created a figure-eight trail that winds through fern-filled forests, past stone walls and a huge rock ledge and the rim of a quarry hole.

I’ve got to tell you, the abandoned quarry is way more interesting to me than the trees. Like, galaxies more interesting – and I love trees! My last name is Wood! But they’re just trees. Common Connecticut trees at that. But hey, on this trail you get giant tulip trees and a cool old quarry hole. (I’d have named the trail Quarry Hole Trail and made the blazes blue with a hole in the middle.)

After hiking down from the Valley Falls lot to a low, muddy point, I headed off east onto the Tulip Tree Trail. I ascended slightly through the trees in a light drizzle. I supposed there was a “state land” sign denoted free passage into the state park, but I can’t remember. What I can remember is heading south on the trail, with Bolton Road houses in sight, and coming up the striking limestone ridges and quarry cuts.

Sure, we’ve all hiked past quarries before and the state has some startling open quarries that trails pass by. But there’s something differently cool about this one. It must be that jagged limestone towering over everything.

Before the railroad cut through the notch, and before Vernon split off from Bolton in 1808, quarrying this area was big business. Bolton was said to have had the finest stone craftsmen around and many Bolton colonial houses have cut stone instead of common field stone. However, most of the growth of Bolton quarrying came to an end with the War of 1812, when Britain blockaded American ports so that Bolton could not ship stone by boat. Distant cities were force to find closer sources of their stone. By 1830 it was popular and less expensive to build Bolton foundations and even whole buildings in brick and that was pretty much that for Bolton quarrying. (Except there’s actually a small, private, active quarry right near the Tulip Tree Trail.)

The rain started falling harder as I completed the far loop of the trail out near the road. As I made my way back down towards Valley Falls Park again, I was struck by the solitude of this trail. It’s well maintained and I’m sure people find it and hike it, but it’s over a mile away from the BNSP lot and over a mile away from the Valley Falls lot and aside from the Cuban tulip blazes, it doesn’t announce itself in any way.

As a result, it is isolated from human noise. Tucked well away from major highways and housing, far enough away from the popular rail trail and set deep in the woods… this level of peace and quiet is rare around here.

In other words, seek this one out. It’s great.

Bolton Notch State Park Trail Map
CTMQ’s Bolton Notch State Park Page