Mill Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Historical Significance

The nearest restrooms are in the parking lot of the Pine Creek Grist Mill and Melanie School. There are no restrooms or services on the trail.

The Trail begins at the parking lot where the Pine Creek Grist Mill is located. Built by Benjamin Nye in 1848, the grist mill and neighboring Melanie School are open for tours from at varying times, so check the park website for the current hours. After learning about the mill and school, you cross the road and follow a dirt trail that begins to climb into the park.

Trees provide a lot of shade as you work your way deeper into the park. About halfway into the hike, there is a wooden platform where the Pine Creek Overlook is, but in the summer, this is obscured by the leaves in the tree. Shortly past the overlook, the trail begins to descend toward the Punch Bowl and Lower Picnic Area Trail.

The first descent has some beams that have been put into the hillside to help hikers, especially when it is wet. The second descent is even steeper and has steps that help you navigate the hillside. Here, the trail levels out and crosses a small creek on a wooden bridge before arriving at the junction with the Punch Bowl and Lower Picnic Area Trail.

You can follow either of these trails to see more of what Wildcat Den State Park has to offer. To get back to your vehicle, the only option is to retrace your steps back to your vehicle in the parking lot. The trail can also be easily used in the reverse direction, making the mill and school a good midway point that people can explore before continuing their hike.

Various species of birds can be heard in the woods around you as you hike deeper into the park. Ground squirrels and gray squirrels can be seen feeding along the trail. Deer may be seen feeding along the trail in the early morning or evening.