Walktober hits its stride this weekend with more than 60 adventures throughout The Last Green Valley. And it’s all happening as the national heritage corridor begins to hit its peak for fall foliage. 

For Oct. 13-16:

Walktober: Roseland Cottage Fine Arts & Crafts Festival, Oct. 14 and 15, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Roseland Cottage, 556 Rte. 169, Woodstock, CT. 617-994-5914. One of the leading juried fine arts and crafts shows in New England. This 2-day event features hundreds of artisans and their wares: jewelry, woodworking, pottery, glass, toys, paintings, clothing, metalwork, and much more. Visitors, many of whom return year after year, enjoy live music, a food court, and first floor tours of Roseland Cottage. 

Walktober: Bull Hill Preserve Hike, Oct. 14, 1-3 p.m., Bull Hill Rd., Woodstock, CT.

860-428-0968. See and walk one of the Wyndham Land Trust’s newest and largest preserves. There is a fabulous scenic vista along the walk. No dogs please. 

Walktober: Bird Watching, Oct. 14, 8-10 a.m., CT Audubon Center, 218 Day Rd., Pomfret (Pomfret Center), CT. 860-928-4948. Witness the wide variety of migrating birds on the Pomfret Sanctuary. Expect to find some warbler species, several kinds of sparrows, vireos, woodpeckers, hawks and more! Learn how to bird watch from the best. Children 12 and older only.

Walktober: Hike Up Mount Misery in Pachaug Forest with Foresters from CT DEEP, Oct. 13. 10 a.m. - noon, Rte. 49, Voluntown, CT. 860-774-3300. Join representatives of The Last Green Valley and foresters of CT DEEP for a Walktober hike up Mount Misery. Enjoy the scenery from atop the 441-foot peak as we discuss DEEP’s forest management planning process, ongoing gypsy moth concerns, and efforts to sustain underrepresented natural communities at Pachaug State Forest.

Walktober: Hike in the Spring Hill Tract of the UConn Forest, Oct. 14, 9-11 a.m., 337 Chaffeville Rd., Mansfield, CT. No building at this address; park in the turnout at the intersection of Chaffeeville & Bousa Rds. 860-486-1076. Preregistrations required at http://s.uconn.edu/ucforesthike, limited to 25 hikers. UConn Associate Extension Professor and UConn Forest Steward Tom Worthley will guide a hike in the Spring Hill Tract of the UConn Forest. You’ll learn about forest succession, forest management and current forestry research at UConn. Children 12 and older only.

Walktober: 28th Annual Sturbridge Harvest Festival, Oct. 14, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Oct. 15, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Town Common & Publick House, 277 Main St. (Rte. 131), Sturbridge, MA. 508-347-2761. An ongoing lively event each fall features family fun, crafts, live music & entertainment, foods, farm fresh harvests, and the popular Publick House Scarecrow Contest.

Walktober: The River, Rail, Mills & Trails, Oct. 14, 10-11:30 a.m., 55 Bridge St., Willimantic, CT. Drive in about 0.5 miles on the gravel road beside the tracks to the walk greeter. 860-617-3308. Walk the new rail trail to the Railroad Museum, talking and learning about railroad history and current service, and the river that powered the mills. Optional: tour the museum or take a train ride for an additional small cost that is well worth it.

Walktober: Old Home Day on the Canterbury Green, Oct. 14, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., 6 S. Canterbury Rd., Canterbury, CT. Handicapped parking on-site. All others please park at Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle School, 45 Westminster Rd. (Rte. 14). Free shuttle bus running thru the day. 860-546-9346.

 

 Join us for Old Home Day - Canterbury’s favorite way to welcome fall! Old Home Day features demonstrations of traditional crafts and trades, live music, cute & friendly animal, reenactors, great food, exhibits inside the 19th century one-room Green District schoolhouse, children’s activities, and more! Admission and parking are always free, and the event goes rain or shine.

Walktober: Atwood Farm Cider Pressing the 19th Century Way, Oct. 14, 2-4 p.m., Atwood Farm, 624 Wormwood Hill Rd., Mansfield Center, CT. 860-429-9023. Come with the family as we gather apples in the orchard and take them to the cider press to make cider for the winter months.  Rain or shine. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the office.

Walktober: Wells Woods - Columbia’s Ghost Town, Oct. 15, 1-3 p.m., rain date: Oct. 22, 1-3 p.m., 32 Wells Woods Rd., Columbia CT. Parking on right side of road only. Preregistration required, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 860-228-2849. Learn about a village once home to over a dozen families but abandoned since the 1930’s. We’ll visit old homestead and mill sites, a family cemetery, and the village school site, all the while hearing stories of those who settled here in the 1820’s and left behind so much evidence of the hard lives they led. 

Walktober: This Was His Forest, Oct. 15, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Myers Pond Forest, 159 Kinney Hollow Rd., Union, CT. 860-377-0117. Learn about sustainable forestry, history of Union, and George H. Myers, the man behind the Yale-Myers Forest on this 2-hour tour of the Hull Forestlands Myers Pond Forest, the jewel of his properties.

Walktober: Greeneville Art Tour, Oct. 16, 10-11 a.m., 193 N Main St., Norwich, CT. 860-886-1776. Over the past few years there have been several public art projects in the village of Greeneville. It started with a fire hydrant painting competition that sought to get all of us to take ownership of our surroundings while bringing beauty and recognition to a somewhat hidden side of the City of Norwich. This continued for 2 summers and over 40 hydrants were painted with magical creatures and beautiful scenes. As that second summer’s competition was wrapping up, a community mural painting project was ramping up. It brought together community members, young and old, to beautify the side of a building that had been scared by graffiti. This building sits on the corner of the main road and the bridge over the Shetucket River. The mural beautifully depicts natural resources and historic structures in our village. This tour is led by Zechariah Stover, Vice Chair of the Greeneville Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, and will start at the southern most tip of the village, right in front of the Welcome to Greeneville sign!

Walktober: Visit the Huguenot Steamer No. 1 Fire Station Museum, Oct. 14, 10 a.m. - noon, 655 Main St., N. Oxford MA. Silsby Steamer, Jeffers Handtub, Colonel DeWitt, firetruck, collections and stories galore are to be discovered in this museum. Great for kids of all ages, and ready for you to stop in and visit during Walktober. 

 

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