Kettlehole Trail

June 23, 2011 12:00 am • Last Updated: August 16, 2018 1:33 pm

By Day staff

The trailhead of the Kettlehole Trail on Avery Hill Road Extension in Ledyard.

Town: Ledyard

Directions: Take I-95 to exit 88. Go north on Route 117 for 3.8 miles. Turn left on Sandy Hollow Road and go 2.2 miles. Turn left on Whalehead Road and go 0.6 miles. Turn right on Avery Hill Road Extension and go 0.4 miles, dirt parking area is on the right.

Where to Park: There is a small dirt parking area off Avery Hill Road Extension.

Description: A short, flat 1/4 mile trail skirts the lip of a glacial depression called a kettlehole. A short spur trail descends into the middle of the kettlehole.

Regulations: None posted.

Amenities: None.

Natural Features: A kettlehole is created when a receding glacier leaves behind a large chunk of ice. The ice then melts, leaving a depression in the ground. Kettleholes commonly became bogs or ponds, but this location is an rare example of a dry kettlehole.

Fees: Free.

Owned by: Town of Ledyard

More information: www.ledyardrec.org

The flat trail sets out in between trees on the Kettlehole Trail in Ledyard.

A stone wall runs alongside the Kettlehole Trail in Ledyard.

A spur trail goes through a break in the stone wall, descending to the bottom of the kettlehole.

A fern on the forest floor at the bottom of the kettlehole.

The fern-covered forest floor at the bottom of the kettlehole.

A seeding goring alongside the Kettlehole Trail in Ledyard.

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