It’s said that 60-foot drop known as Chapman Falls was a favorite spot of the Devil to play his fiddle. A quick hike exploring just a small bit of the The 1,000-acre park in southeastern Connecticut.
After spending two nights camping in the park, the time had come to explore the forest I called home for a couple of days. The morning was spent hiking a 2.5-mile lasso-loop, mostly along the orange blazed Vista Trail, from the parking lot over to the Devil’s Oven then down to Tablet Rock Vista and then Chapman Falls and the potholes below. The “Oven” is a small, natural hole several feet deep in the side of a massive rock formation.
A malt house, although it was abandoned before 1814, stood on a farm near a small tributary of the Eightmile River known as Malt House Brook. During its operation, a man named Dibble cultivated hops in a nearby clearing, referred to as the “hopyard,” located beside the road that passes through what is now known as Devil’s Hopyard.
However, the origin of the “Devil” part is uncertain, with theories ranging from someone mishearing the landowner’s name to folklore involving supernatural causes for the naturally formed potholes near the falls. Early settlers explained their mysterious appearance through legend, claiming the Devil scorched the stones with his hooves after angrily fleeing the falls when his tail got wet.
The potholes near the falls are among the finest examples of stone formations of their kind in this part of the United States. They were created by rocks carried downstream by the current and caught in swirling eddies. As these stones spun in place, they gradually ground circular depressions into the bedrock. When one rock wore down, another would often take its place, further enlarging the hole. The resulting potholes are perfectly cylindrical and vary in size, from just a few inches to several feet in both diameter and depth.
Did not take any photographs of the Falls or holes due to a large family setting up a huge picnic and spreading out all over the place with kids jumping in the water. The water at Devil’s Hopyard State Park is unsafe for drinking, it is advised that you plan to bring your own water when visiting the park.
