Tunnel #2 was about 1/2 mile long with signage that suggest we walk our bikes in the tunnel. It was dark, wet, and muddy with a very rounded road bed. At the end of this tunnel we found ourselves in Wilton and were ready to continue on to Tunnel #1 until we saw that the trail was closed due to flooding back in 2016. Nice of them to tell us that! A man and women came from the trail and we asked if it was difficult to travel and they indicated we should not try it. We turned around!
Back in Norwalk we ate our picnic lunch and then decided to go the other direction and check out Tunnel #3 - the really long tunnel. At the mouth of the tunnel we met several people coming out and they were wet from dripping water and they said it was very cold. We could feel the cold at the entrance without going in. One lady suggested that we could go in just a short way and turn around but we decided to not go through it at all. It was one of those moments where we said “Let’s say we did, then don’t!”
These tunnels were built circa 1873. Flumes were constructed a few years later to divert flood waters away from the tunnels. Some of the flumes are still visible. An unusual feature of both tunnels were huge doors at both entrances. Not sure why but a sign said that in the winter a man was posted at each end of the tunnel to open and close the doors to let the trains through, sometimes up to 50 times a day. I think it had to do with snow.
We made a short stop in Sparta to photograph Ben Bikin’, the largest bicycle in the world.
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