Upper Bolton Lake in Bolton, CT

What a gem! Upper Bolton Lake’s launch is simply on the opposite side of the road of Middle Bolton Lake’s launch, but it’s an area that feels completely different. Upper Bolton Lake is quiet, the shore is lined with trees, and it’s shallow paddling. While there I saw a red-tailed hawk, a great blue heron, red-winged blackbirds, geese, ducks (and a variety of other little birds I can’t identify) as well as turtles, jumping fish, and an old beaver lodge.

But the exciting part of the trip came when rounding the bend, when I discovered that Upper Bolton Lake is actually much bigger than the Google Maps “map” view of the area suggests (compare the “map” and “satellite” views). The lake extends quite a ways, and is a great area to explore. It’s packed with little islands of growth and the remnants of dead trees to paddle around. This whole section is exceptionally shallow — I dragged the kayak bottom frequently — but was worth pushing through to explore. I suspect this back area is deep enough to paddle through only in the spring.

This whole back area deserves photographic attention! However, despite being so shallow it’s certainly not a place to try to set up the tripod: there’s about two feet of soft, mucky mud below. Late afternoon light will be best.

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