Who decided to name the sperm whale the state animal? When’s the last time anyone saw one swimming in Long Island Sound — 1830?

And what about the praying mantis, our state insect? It’s not even native to Connecticut, but more to the point, why even have a state insect? Might as well honor a state slug or state rodent.

Now, here’s one symbol I can get behind: mountain laurel, our state flower. These delicate pink blossoms that pop out in June take your breath away.

Even without flowers, laurel’s shiny evergreen leaves brighten a drab and dreary deciduous forest in winter and early spring. The lush shrubs often arch over trails, forming verdant tunnels that enhance any hiking experience.

“It’s going to be a banner year for laurel,” Maggie Jones predicted, noting the abundance of yet-to-pop buds that she, Andy Lynn and I observed the other day while we hiked through Bolton Notch State Park.

Located in Bolton, a small suburban town 12 miles east of Hartford, the park measures only 93 acres, but we were able to ramble for seven miles by veering off onto contiguous public properties.

The state bought the first 70 acres of Bolton Notch in 1918 to establish a wayside park, and later added 23 more acres. Other nearby protected open-space parcels include 1,569-acre Gay City State Park on the Hebron-Bolton border; the Hop River State Park Trail, a former railroad line that winds 20.2 miles through parts of Bolton, Manchester, Vernon, Coventry, Andover and Columbia; and 21-acre Freja Park and 27-acre Indian Notch Park, both owned by the town of Bolton.

Once part of Hartford before its incorporation in 1785, Bolton had been called Hartford Mountain because of rugged, rocky terrain left behind after glaciers receded more than 10,000 years ago.

Bolton Notch, which makes up the divide between the Thames River and Connecticut River watersheds, became the site of a small community known as Quarryville in the 19th century, when tombstone carvers and other stone tradesmen mined high-quality schist.

The park also contains one of only a few true limestone caves in Connecticut, near the top of an 820-foot ledge. Maggie, Andy and I headed there first.

“Should have brought a rope,” I said, as we scrambled up a steep, unmarked trail leading to the cavern known as Squaw Cave.

Explanations for the cavern’s name vary, but most agree that a Dutchman named Peter Hager, who married a Podunk Native American princess named Wunneeneetmah in the early 1600s, died there after being shot.

The Podunks and Mohegans were among tribes that inhabited the region some 10,000 years ago. They called Bolton Notch Saqumsketuck, which means land or place at the hard rock.

The cave’s wide opening beckoned, but none of us ventured beyond a few yards, because a fast-flowing stream that ran through the cavern made for slippery footing. Anyway, why spend time mucking around a dark, damp hole in the ground when exhilarating forest trails await?

Among the paths we crossed was a section of the Shenipsit Trail, which extends for 50 miles between Cobalt to the south and Stafford to the north.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention a couple points that detracted from our Bolton Notch outing: Graffiti marred walls outside the cave, as well as other rocks on a nearby hillside.

I think anyone caught defacing nature should be tossed in a cave — maybe not to suffer the same fate as Peter Hager, but at least to spend time there thinking about the ugliness of spray paint.

The other distraction: A busy highway dominated the view from this precipice.

In fact, we never totally escaped the sound of traffic during several hours of hiking. I realize that we live in the 21st century, but woodland excursions are much more rewarding when they take you away from all the clutter and cacophony.

If you can get past these issues, Bolton Notch is a worthy destination — especially if you make a detour through Freja Park, where benches overlooking scenic Bolton Notch Pond served as the perfect spot for a lunch break.

Bolton Notch’s main parking lot is located at the junction of Route 6 and Route 44.

Here are directions to Squaw Cave:

From the parking lot, hike east on the Hop River Linear Trail a short distance and veer off onto a side trail on the left, just before a tunnel that passes beneath Route 44.

Follow this trail uphill to Route 44 and turn left. In a short distance, just before a speed-limit sign, a well-worn trail rises steeply to a cliff where the cave entrance is easily visible.