Originally owned by Columbia University, this park was a summer camp for students. During World War I, the camp was used as a training facility for college students who wanted to apply to be officers in the military. Today, there are still visible training trenches.
In 2004, the camp was declared a historic state park. The majority of Camp Columbia is considered Camp Columbia State Forest which overgrew the abandoned camp.
There are three trails: the green trail, the orange trail, and the red trail. The Green Trail is about 0.4 miles long and is considered easier than the Red Trail (roughly 2.0 miles long). The Orange Trail loops within the Red trail, and it is about 0.8 miles long.
This park is managed by the following CT DEEP Park Headquarters:
Turn right onto State Route 209/Bantam Lake Road. Follow Route 209 south until it ends. Turn left onto Route 109/West Street. After about a quarter of a mile, the parking area is on the right.
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