Pachaug South & Pequot Trail

Mystic's back country, away from the shore: leave Old Mystic on CT-201 north, cross North Stonington to Glasgo, take CT-138 to Voluntown and run south on CT-49 through the pines of Pachaug State Forest. Past Clarks Falls you reach Pawcatuck and ride back on the Pequot Trail (CT-234), part of it a designated state scenic road. It's 40 miles of quiet backroads, good for a mixed pack. Watch the CT-2 crossing, which carries the casino traffic, and the stretch under I-95.

Voluntown takes its name from the colonial volunteers of King Philip's War: in 1700 the veterans were granted six square miles of land here, and the town was incorporated in 1721. Around it spreads Pachaug State Forest, the largest state forest in Connecticut at more than 26,000 acres across six towns, founded in 1928 and named for the Pachaug River that runs through it. CT-49 crosses it south of Voluntown through the pines, and if you add the short ride north of town, the forest's Chapman area holds the Mt Misery overlook and the Rhododendron Sanctuary, which blooms in June and July.

The way home is the Pequot Trail, a colonial road the settlers used to get around the head of the Mystic River with their livestock and goods. It became a state road in 1932, went back to the town in 1935 and was signed as Route 234 in 1987, and part of it is a designated state scenic road. The forest's gated roads close from January 1 to March 31, and its campgrounds run from April 10 to October 12 in 2026. On CT-138 between Hopeville and Voluntown this route shares about 4 miles with the Pachaug North loop, so the two join for a day of about 80 miles.