Hidden Gems of North-Central Connecticut

SIMSBURY, CT — Today's installment of this periodic series on Patch sites in north-central Connecticut highlighting "hidden gems" throughout the region features a landmark which is only half-hidden - but it is the hidden half that makes it stand out from any other in the state.

The Pinchot Sycamore, located at 20 Hartford Road (Route 185) in Simsbury at the Bataan Corregidor Memorial Bridge over the Farmington River, is the largest tree in Connecticut. Its trunk measures more than 28 feet around and 100 feet tall; however, much of that is not visible from the roadway due to the tree being nestled in Pinchot Sycamore Park, a small bowl-like recreation ground which contains a launching point for small boats and canoes into the river.

Located at the base of Talcott Mountain, the tree and park offers a breathtaking view of the Heublein Tower atop the mountain. Hundreds of visitors stop by each year to take family photographs encircling the massive trunk. At night, the tree is illuminated by floodlights.

The sycamore, estimated to be between 200 and 300 years old, was dedicated in 1965 to Gifford Pinchot, a former Simsbury resident who was the country's first head of the U.S. Forestry Service, as appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, and later became Governor of Pennsylvania.

This series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Other recent columns in this series:
Stafford Palace Theater
Mansfield Hollow State Park
Old Tolland County Jail and Museum
Hill-Stead Museum
Mark's Restaurant