Impatient for autumn’s dazzling, deciduous displays?

It may be weeks before the forest comes alive in shades of vermilion and gold, but woodland hikers can enjoy plenty of color right now, as friends and I discovered the other day while roaming trails in East Haddam’s Devil’s Hopyard State Park.

Lavender-hued asters, iridescent goldenrods, pale green bluestems, crimson teaberries, blue-green fungi and tangerine-colored mushrooms offered a glorious preview of the upcoming main attraction that will feature resplendent hues of maple, birch and oak leaves.

“What a diverse richness of colors,” Maggie Jones noted, as she, Kelly Parsons and I rambled up and down little-used footpaths on the west bank of the Eightmile River.

Most visitors to the 1,000-acre park drive to the main entrance at 366 Hopyard Road and stroll a short distance to its most popular attraction, 60-foot Chapman Falls, but we followed a route Kelly laid out that was well off the beaten path.

“Never been here before,” Maggie remarked.

“Me either,” I said.

Kelly, who lives nearby, took us on blue, yellow and red-blazed paths, accessible from an unpaved section of Mitchell Road, about a mile south of Chapman Falls. Kelly said he enjoys hiking on main trails with his golden retriever, Piper, but a few years ago decided to explore more isolated paths.

“So, since then, how many other hikers have you seen on these trails?” I asked.

He stopped to think, and finally replied, “None … wait, maybe one.”

That number remained unchanged during our five-mile sojourn – we didn’t cross paths with any other humans, but did observe one Fowler’s toad and assorted birds, including a squawking raven and a small flock of chittering chickadees. We also were serenaded by the raucous, Woody Woodpecker-like cry of a pileated woodpecker, one of our region’s most distinctive avian calls.

Rounding a bend in the trail, we encountered an impressive cluster of honey mushrooms in their early button phase.

“Look at them all! I’ve never seen so many!” Maggie exclaimed. Some foragers who regard these fungi as a delicacy spend hours scouring the woods to collect them, but Maggie said she finds them “too slimy.” I’ll take her word for it. Much tastier are chicken of the woods, which we saw growing on the trunk of an oak tree.

“It’s been a banner year for mushrooms,” she said.

Had we the time and inclination, we could have extended our journey to take in Chapman Falls, but during this rainless season, it is more of a trickle than a thundering cascade. I’ll wait until next spring.

The 60-foot waterfall on the Eightmile River flows over cylindrical potholes that are associated with the park’s Luciferian name. Legend has it that the Devil became so enraged when his tail became wet that he bounded away while kicking holes in stones.

There’s a more credible explanation for the potholes, which range in depth and diameter from a few inches to several feet. Geologists suggest swirling river currents turned stones into drill bits that bored holes into the Scotland schist. The waterfall also powered Beebe’s Mills until the 1890s.

Historians trace the hopyard reference to farmer George Griffin, who grew hops on his farm and operated a malt house in the early 1800s.

In the early 20th century, extensive logging in the area prompted Colchester resident A.G. Willard to push for land preservation. In 1919, the state acquired the site and created the park, which now offers hiking trails, camping and fishing.

It’s a wonderful place to visit, in any season.

More information, including a trail map, is available at ctparks.com/parks/devils-hopyard-state-park.