Windsor State Forest

July 16, 2020 Cloudy

This is a state forest in Windsor, MA, in the northwest part of the state. We visited with plans to see the “cascading waterfall as Windsor Jambs”, which was listed on the state site, along with an impressive-looking picture.

GPS took us to northern section of the forest (Bush Rd and Rt 116). The initial point seemed to be down a narrow, rocky road, so we tried to find an alternate route. Roads through the forest were mainly gravel and some were closed.

We drove across the park on Bush Road to Bush Cemetery Road, which was all unpaved. There were very few signs but finally passed a small cemetery within the forest (the Bush Cemetery).

Within the park there were no cell signals, so plan accordingly and bring a good map.

Eventually we came to a main intersection where a man was working and just getting into his pickup truck. Fortunately for us he confirmed that we had indeed arrived at Windsor Jambs. But he didn’t know anything about the huge gorge and waterfall. He did say that maybe 20 years ago the water flow was much better and this was a sort of local swimming hole.

We saw a small brook crossed by a bridge, with a parking lot beyond. Since the gates were closed we just got out of our car to take a look.

There was no gorge or waterfall here, but just some ruins of a dam. We also found an old park building with a payphone on the side, and another one abandoned by the side of a meadow. There were also a few picnic tables.

It turns out the park has been closed since 2009 due to budget cuts and is only just now being restored (hence the worker we met in this area).

After a few minutes we got into the car and headed south to see if we could find anything but just exited the park. Turning back we headed north through the park but did not see any more signs or indications of the gorge and waterfall.

There were campgrounds along the river but they were closed.

Looking online later, it turns out that we had missed the short hiking trail to the gorge, which was east of our location, off of Schoolhouse Road. As I said, make sure that you have a detailed map when you enter the forest. Apparently the waterfall and gorge are a hidden gem. Well, there’s always next time.

• This park is undergoing revitalization. Not much to see at present and facilities are not really open.
• The park is just getting restored. It’s not open. DCR should add warning on its web site so visitors know to avoid it at the present.
• This was the worst park ever. There was nothing here and it was all overgrown.
• There was almost nothing at this state park, but that means we didn’t have to walk much.
• We didn’t have to walk so that was good and there wasn’t much signs either.

For more information: Windsor State Forest official site