Machimoodus State Park

Machimoodus State Park is 300 acres of uplands, woodlands, meadows, river and cove waterfronts, hiking trails, bird watching, and scenic vistas overlooking the Salmon River and Salmon River Cove. Four and a half miles of old farm roads and trails crisscross the park, providing easy access to all 300 acres of woodlands and uplands. The park’s couplet of ponds and vibrant wildflower meadows draw birds, pollinators — and birdwatchers — all four seasons of the year. In summer and late fall, diverse sparrows and warblers, juncos, bluebirds, phoebes, and other small birds and butterflies stop over on their migratory flights. 

Mount Tom is Machimoodus’s high point at 314 feet above sea level. Along its southern slope, the mountain features two lookout points with picturesque vistas of the Connecticut, Salmon, and Moodus Rivers and the Salmon River Cove — and great spots to catch sightings of geese, mute swans, mergansers, bufflehead, black duck, mallard, and bald eagles, in season.

Fun fact: When the Pequot, Mohegan and Narragansetts witnessed noisy rumblings and echoes here, they referred to this location as "the place of bad noises" or Machimoodus. That name carried through colonial times, the two following centuries, and persists today. Various legends and folk tales about the rumblings passed through the generations until 1981 when geologists determined "micro earthquakes" as the cause. A nearby cave echoes the tremors loudly — and seem even louder in the relative silence of pre-motorized societies.