In search for an easy walk on an extremely hot summer evening, I headed over to the Old Mill Trail along the Dalton/ Hinsdale town border in the Berkshires. The trail passes by historic old ruins of mills and dams and also closely follows the banks of the East Branch Housatonic River.
The trail is fairly new, completed in 2010 and is well maintained.
A fantastic footbridge spans the river a short distance into the hike. This has got to be one of the best footbridges I have seen.
The East Branch from the bridge.
After crossing the river, you walk through some open fern fields. This is the most brushy section of the entire trail.
Once you re-enter the woods, you quickly come to a short side path that leads to an old abandoned car. Not sure how old this is, but it has been thoroughly picked through and is extremely rusty.
The evening sun shining through the trees.
The river turns into a fast moving current surrounded by evergreens further along the trail.
The beautiful East Branch Housatonic River.
The Route 8 bridge divides the trail. You can cross the road or continue on under the bridge at low water levels.
The trail literally follows the river at this point, basically walking on rocks with the pleasant sound of rushing water at your feet.
The trail is surrounded by the railroad tracks on one side and the river on the other. There are many opportunities to access the river. I finally turned around after about 1.3 miles of very enjoyable walking.
A large clearing for the power lines provides a view up the wooded hills and across to Route 8's traffic.
The river flowing towards the Route 8 bridge.
After completing the Old Mill Trail on this muggy night, I was happy to arrive back at the car and ride with my windows down to cool off. Hiked about 2.5 miles RT on almost completely level terrain. The sunset was spectacular on Pontoosuc Lake so I pulled off the road to capture this shot.
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