Welcome to this magnificent display of the Connecticut state flower. At its very best in June but can be visited at any time of the year. One can truly say that it is “outstanding in its field”.
Closest parking is the Coop Rd parking lot (1.1 mi) at N 41° 42.703 W 072° 29.899, a pleasant, shaded dirt-road walk. The Birch Mountain Rd, side-of-road parking, nearby to the power right-of-way gate at N 41° 42.979 W 072° 28.091, is also viable, however most of the distance is in the blazing summer sun.
Wildlife Precautions and Trail Access
These woods are lovely, dark and deep. There is an abundance of wildlife in the area. It’s quite common to encounter beaver, bobcats, coyotes in packs of three or four, deer, fishers, red, grey and yellow foxes, four varieties of owls, snapping turtles, timber rattlesnakes, various water snakes, weasels and the very rare occasional wandering mother bear with cubs. We hike here with bear spray when the blueberries are in season. Exercise caution and please remember that you're in their home.
This cache is part of the Buckingham Reservoir series of caches; search for BuckResv. The cache locations are all on or very near well-worn trails. Consult the many informal trails on the main geocaching.com map to minimize bushwhacking. It is possible to visit all caches in the series via a 9-mile loop, but some caches are tricky and will extend your day. Probably too many for one day.
Stream Crossing Suggestions:
All locations in the series can be reached without crossing any streams. But traversing from one cache to another may bring a desire to cross streams instead of going around. Below are suggestions for possible stream crossings.
1. The northern inlet brook can be crossed on a walkable old beaver dam at BuckResv - Beaver City (GCB5V0N) N 41° 43.566 W 072° 29.647 or a culvert at N 41° 43.712 W 072° 29.633.
2. The northeastern inlet brook, which is actually Roaring Brook, can be crossed on a dirt road where it enters the reservoir at N 41° 43.496 W 072° 29.643 or on a bridge at BuckResv - Beaver Highway (GCB5MDX) N 41° 43.567 W 072° 29.192.
3. The outlet brook, the now larger Roaring Brook just below the reservoir, is nigh impossible to cross without wading, especially in the springtime, except for the excellent wooden bridge at BuckResv - Tranquility (GCB5EK1) N 41° 42.906 W 72° 30.335. We encourage finding a way around instead of crossing just below the reservoir.
Parking:
1. N 41° 43.814 W 72° 30.235 - Mountain Rd cul-de-sac, room for about eight cars. Best for west side of reservoir and northern caches. Southern and far eastern caches are a bit far.
2. N 41° 42.703 W 072° 29.899 - Coop Rd parking lot, room for about 15 cars, often busy. Best for east side of reservoir and southern caches. Northern and far eastern caches are a bit far.
3. N 41° 42.979 W 072° 28.091 – Birch Mountain Rd, side-of-road parking, nearby to the power right-of-way gate. Best for far eastern caches, a little far from east side of reservoir and northern caches.
Although tempting from the map for the southern caches, local knowledge indicates that parking on the western end of Old Hebron Ave is strongly forbidden, lots of no trespassing signs about private property, getting shot. Also, parking directly on Hebron Ave Route 94 near the closed-off eastern end of Old Hebron Ave would be incredibly dangerous - no shoulder, guardrails instead, most cars do 60 here and you or your car are going to get creamed. Far better and safer to park at Coop Rd as above and take the short delightful forest trail walk to the southern caches.
Buckingham Reservoir