Lantern Hill CT

[sneaker]

Anyone ever been to lantern hill overlooking the Mashuntucket Indian Casino in North stonington, CT?

If you follow the trails up to the top there is a hundred foot cliff alot of people rock climb on (myself included). On the casino side there are smaller cliffs. You can see along way from up there.

So on to the weird shit...
Its like there are hollow spots in the hill. A friend and I used to hike there all the time and then one day we noticed an area at the top that sounds hollow under your feet. We doug down a few inches and its all just dirt and rock, but it ain't if ya know what I mean. We ended up spending the day walking around the top stomping our feet like idiots but sure enough we found 4 or 5 more spots that sound hollow. Some seriously weird shit. Sounds hollow enough to fall through but we tried all sorts of shit and we never broke through nothing.

We'd been thinkin about this weird finding on the hill for a couple of weeks when this guy we know reminded us ther is a silca mine about a half mile away from lantern hill. At the silica mine you can literaly break a rock open and find 2 inch quartz crystals.

So that leads to the mystery question... What do you think of the potential of there being giant geodes (spelling?) or something in the hill? I'm not a spiritual person but everyone knows the place for the vibe it has. Connection?

Weird shit...

[curr]

i basically live next to latern hill/ive never been to where youre talking about but i heard about it/i hears the ground is like quicksand and that people have actually sunk down to their waist, i guess you guess were just lucky or someone is just having a laugh at me

[sneaker]

Never heard of anyone sinking up to their waste wxcwept in swampy areas.
We used to party up there all the time in high school. we'd make huge bonfires at the top before the casino expanded so much. The hollow spots are up top. No joke.

[skully]

That is pretty weird.  Have you ever brought let's say... a sledgehamme up there to investigate these "spots"?

[truckie]

I read somewhere along time ago that Lantern hill got its name because of the white rock and that they used to build fires on the top to guide ships into the Mystic river.  On a clear day if you walk towards the mine on the casino side you will see a section that almost looks like a platform, from there you can see into Mystic.  From Mystic on I 95 just as you go over the bridge if you look inland you cann see the hill.

[OU812DV]

I live down the road from this hill. One note when exploring in the summer. SNAKES LOTS OF FRIGGIN SNAKES!!!!!  otherwise I don't know why the hill is hollow. 

[Megster]

I've been going up Lantern Hill since I was 4 or 5 (my family is nuts when it comes to being outdoors).  My grandfather used to tell me stories about caves up there since he was convinced that there had to be some, but we've never found them.  We go up a few times every year, and my mom, grandfather and I always go on Father's Day (which is an amazing feat considering that my grandfather's going to be 75 on Saturday!)

Ravens live on the hill.  You can tell they're not crows because their calls are different and they're much bigger.  We saw them last year during our hike.

We were worried when we found out that the Mashantuckets bought the land Lantern Hill is on because we thought they might put up fences or even close the area to the public altogether, but it's been about 10 years and nothing has changed except the view. 

If you know where to look, you can also see the 450-foot tall hotel at Mohegan Sun in the distance.  You can also see the ocean and the river in Mystic, as well as Ekonk Hill in Voluntown.  What's odd is that Lantern Hill isn't classified as a mountain because it's only 450 feet above sea level, yet Mt. Misery (in Voluntown) is because it's 612 feet, but anyone who's climbed both can tell you that Lantern Hill gives you a lot more exercise.

I remember the first time I went up, there were flyers pasted to trees all over the hill about an old man who disappeared, and I asked about that recently and my grandparents said he was never found.  At the time, there were all kinds of rumors about it, that he had Alzheimers, that he faked having Alzheimers and actually ran off to Bermuda, etc.

There was a large fire up there in 1992 that burned 8 acres.  Most of it has grown back, but you can still see evidence of it even today.

[CarbonCavi]

dang, i live right down the road from there and go by there everyday, ( i work at foxwoods ) ill have to go up there one day, i know a guy who works with me he just got fired and he lives up there, always refers to it as " the mountain"

[undeath]

I used to work at Foxwoods...

I live in Griswold and I've gone to plenty of places a lot of epople either don't know about or have never been to but always heard about them from friends who actually heard it from their friends... who probably heard from one of the people who make up the handful who hang out at certain places.

But I've never been to Lantern Hill. Probably never heard about it, actually... strange. But I've been to Mt. Misery a few times. I don't get out much anymore and my memory isn't sharp in some areas, but I still remember a few spots hidden in different towns...

[Megster]

Whenever my friends are miserable, I take them to Mt. Misery and make them climb it, since none of them have ever been there.  They're usually happy by the time they come down. lol

[Megster]

For anyone who cares, I posted pics of Lantern Hill in the storage bunker. 

[skully]

Just amazing.  I'm freaking blown away at the quality of images that you and others have contributed to the user forums.  If anyone else would like to see Meg's pictures, just click on the little icon under her image that says "Member Gallery".  It will take you to the images that Megster is sharing on the site.

[Megster]

Thanks!!  I think you can probably tell I've been living on the site for the past couple of days trying to get my images up

[Cavanaugh Park]

My history teacher in high school (NFA repreSENT) told me that Lantern Hill is home to a bunch of weird rock allignments. Like periodically up the side they are just huge boulders that line up perfectly with sunrises and sunsets at various angles. Kind of like stonehenge, but not quite. And it goes with this theory that celtic-esque people lived on this continent before the founding of "The New World." (If you're interested in stuff like this, the only book I've ever read that talked about it was a fictional one called "An Acceptable Time" by Madeline L'Engle. Which is "young adult" book, but doesn't really go into theory or anything).

ANYWAY, I've never seen the boulders allgined in any special way, but why would he spend 15 minutes of classtime bullshitting us like that if it weren't true? Or at least he *thought* it was true. It's a idea.

I need to visit Lantern Hill again soon.

[undeath]

Saw Lantern Hill from a window at Foxwoods today... I'm working up there for another company, so I checked out the view while walking by that window. My guess is that the view is more spectacular FROM it and not TO it...

[undeath]

I'm definitely going to have to head up here real soon... I see it every day from Foxwoods since I work there in contruction areas Monday-Friday... it's getting tempting...

[Woodymike]

I'm definitely going to have to head up here real soon... I see it every day from Foxwoods since I work there in contruction areas Monday-Friday... it's getting tempting...
[I used to work at Foxwoods from '94 'til '02, until  I had carpal tunnel from working there. Anyway, I used to go to the trail at least twice a week for a workout. It all started when I was told by a friend of mine who I was working with that the trail was there. When I discovered it, I couldn't get enough of it. You can climb all the way up to the top and look toward the casino, and find yourself at the same level as the highest as the top of the casino. Then, when you look toward the south, you can see toward the sound. It is breath-taking! Then, one day, while my wife & I were looking from across the cliffs, at the boat launch on Lantern Hill Rd, I spotted some people rapalling off the face of the rocks. At that point, I drove around to the parking area at the base of the trail and hiked up the trail as fast as I could until I found where they were. When I did, one of the guys asked if I wanted to try it.  I told him that I never rapalled off a cliff before. So, he showed me how to put on the harness, and how to hold my hands to go down. After I got it the first time, I was hooked. From then, a co-worker of mine & I would go climbing there &/or rapalling every few days. It's a beautiful thing! Now, I work at the Sun, and since I was in Delaware for almost 5 years, where the climbing & hiking is at a minimum, it's time to start getting back to my old hobbies. You have got to try it & it's a beautiful hike to take! /quote]

[Megster]

I posted pictures on my blog about our latest hike up there!

http://mannequinreject.blogspot.com/2008/07/im-back.html

[k wilks]

I used to go there all the time. My ex girlfriend is from ct and she worked at foxwoods for a while.  That hill has a really nice view you can see for miles and miles

[StealthUnited]

My history teacher in high school (NFA repreSENT) told me that Lantern Hill is home to a bunch of weird rock allignments. Like periodically up the side they are just huge boulders that line up perfectly with sunrises and sunsets at various angles. Kind of like stonehenge, but not quite. And it goes with this theory that celtic-esque people lived on this continent before the founding of "The New World." (If you're interested in stuff like this, the only book I've ever read that talked about it was a fictional one called "An Acceptable Time" by Madeline L'Engle. Which is "young adult" book, but doesn't really go into theory or anything).

ANYWAY, I've never seen the boulders allgined in any special way, but why would he spend 15 minutes of classtime bullshitting us like that if it weren't true? Or at least he *thought* it was true. It's a idea.

I need to visit Lantern Hill again soon.

Wow that's weird.. In my dads yard is a boulder with bored holes, that supposedly the celts made for keeping track of the seasons.. Down the street is a cave the celts supposedly built too.. Doing some research and drawing some lines in ms paint from a print screen of goggle maps.. The boulder aligns DEAD CENTER of the dome of the cave.. The boulder is about 400 feet away from the cave. The cave entrance (going in) is east, and the boulders markings are facing north, towards the cave. (Upton cave, upton ma)

This makes me think, about cemitry and the celts now.. This is an interesting find about what your teacher shared.

[zman]

The only place I've seen standing stones in SE Connecticut is at Gungywamp.  Along with "root cellars".  The one I remeber had a window at the back.  On some significant day (summer solstice, etc)., the sun shines through the window and lights up a little niche in the wall.  Lots of other wierd stuff there including stone circles and a boat shaped pile of stones.

[StealthUnited]

The only place I've seen standing stones in SE Connecticut is at Gungywamp.  Along with "root cellars".  The one I remeber had a window at the back.  On some significant day (summer solstice, etc)., the sun shines through the window and lights up a little niche in the wall.  Lots of other wierd stuff there including stone circles and a boat shaped pile of stones.

Boat shaped pile of stones? That's a traditional viking grave.. Size usualy varrys.. Check this out, did it look like this?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6K4an3_7Kkk/SRETZMBnUrI/AAAAAAAABOA/JnA1fEw_PNs/s400/Viking+Burial.jpg

[zman]

That's one of the rumors about Gungywamp - that it was settled by the Norse.  This one is a pile of rocks - so its boat shaped, tapered at each end but filled with stones on the inside.  I was there years ago before I owned a camera.

Here's a link to a site with some more detail and pictures ( but I don't see the boat shaped cairn).

http://www.stonestructures.org/html/gungywamp.html

[dawkstar]

There is a silica mine just next to the hill. Who knows what the mining has done to the stability of the ground of the hill over the years.