QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: Not sure
- Trail Mileage: 0.5 miles
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: Souadabscook Stream
We visited after heavy rains and the stream (although it seemed more like a river) was a torrent of churning whitewater, and the lower part of the park had flooded. It was dramatic!
This is a small park with just a few trails — one follows the stream to an open area with a bench and picnic table. You can see the remains of an old mill creating a small river drop. If you continue, you can cross a field, following the course of the stream, to reach a small creek (and little waterfall). Turn left here and follow the creek a few feet to find a trail back to another field and your car. The total trail mileage, from what we found, was about a half mile.
Directions: The park is located off Papermill Road, about 1,130 feet east of the Papermill Bridge, and about a half mile from the intersection with Coldbrook Road.
I swam there as a kid in the mid 1960’s. We would walk a couple of miles to get there and stay all day. What an idyllic place. Apparently it is not safe to swim there now due to the high bacteria count from the landfill next to it just upstream.
I’m always amazed at how much landscapes can change…
I remember when this area was first developed as a Town of Hampden recreation area and swimming area. The area adjacent to the dam in these photos had too many possible safety concerns, so the Board of Selectmen opted to develop a location a short distance further downstream where the natural stream widened into a sweeping left-hand turn. This was well before some of the environmental laws we have today, and volunteers helped clear an area beside the stream so a local contractor could bulldoze a shallow wading/swimming area for young children and “beginner” swimmers. A footbridge, removed each Fall and reinstalled each Spring after run-off, led to a small gravel beach adjacent to the deeper water main stream, where Intermediate, Advanced and Junior Lifesaving courses were offered. At the center of the channel, the water was usually seven or eight feet deep, but a slender ledge running through part of it came close enough to the surface that kids could stand on it and still have chest-high water; it quickly became a favorite gathering spot away from parents and younger siblings. A low gravel dam with removable splash boards was built at the downstream end of the bulldozed area to help control water levels. Swimming lessons were offered throughout the summer. A basic three-room building on the site offered men and ladies changing rooms on each end with a room in between that served as an office space for instructors and lifeguards, who also operated a small concession stand with snacks and cold drinks. A half-dozen or so picnic tables along the gravel beach and back into the woods offered picnic opportunities or a place for parents to gather while their kids took swimming lessons.
The original plans for the area were to make it a recreational complex that included baseball and softball fields and possibly tennis courts — but by the early 1960’s only the swimming area had been developed.
We spent hours-and-hours there as kids. And now, over fifty years later, I still remember the names of, and have fond memories of, the area director (a local school sports coach) and the two college-aged(?) young ladies (one a blonde, the other a redhead) who taught me to become a good enough swimmer to earn my Red Cross Junior Lifesaving Badge. Other great memories include the fudge (5-cents a square) from the concession stand and a family-friend from East Hampden who often brought along enough home-made root beer to share with the rest of us. Great memories you’d never get at an indoor pool …
Hampden Native Whose Family Moved Away
I love your reminiscences about this place! It clearly holds a special place in the hearts of people in the area. I’d love to see a photo of the spot from the ’50s or ’60s! I bet I could track one down in a local historical society. Next time I am that way, I’ll go look!