Madame Sherri Forest — Attraction in Chesterfield

I visited this place only days ago. I am from Connecticut and this was just a pit stop on the way to my destination for the night. By the time I got there it was very dark out, snow falling and ice everywhere. No normal car was getting to that location due to the steep, dirt roads that were unplowed and covered in ice and snow.

Needless to say we were very much the only people in the forest and the only ones able to drive that road, not one car driving on that road the entire time we were there. We walked up to the ruins to admire the architecture. We didnt visit for the haunting rumors. They all seemed far fetched since all this was used for were parties and no documented crime or death ever occurred on or near the building, it was just a cool pit stop. After admiring the design of what was left of this lady's party house we headed back to our vehicle. Once we got to the parking lot we began to hear some strange noise (almost like if a whistle and the sound of a deer combined) coming from about where the house was. It got louder and louder until we both acknowledged it and then we heard full blown 20s music for just a moment then silence.

Id call this some sort of prank from a local but in order to do so they would have needed some pretty good speakers, a tree stand, night vision to watch our every move and the ability to hear us talking from half a mile away to know when we noticed the strange whistling noise that seemed to be just something to get our attention before the moment of music. You add all that on top of the fact that all the residences along the way were dark and nothing short of a 20+ year old 4x4 with real off road capability was making it to that place that night and the paranormal somehow becomes the more believable theory.

Whats left of the residence is beautiful, and Id highly recommend you do your own research on the history behind it so you can appreciate it that much more if you do go. If you dont experience what we did, youll at least enjoy the trails for a relaxing hike. My advice to you is to also NOT climb the stairs. They are not at all structurally sound. If you dont value your own life then dont walk them just to allow them to stand for a number of years to come. Happy...

Glad we went here to get some exercise in, but I unfortunately wouldn’t recommend it. The castle ruins are cool to see (and less than a 5 minute easy walk to get to), but the Anne Stokes loop trail isn’t worth the effort. Here’s why:

First off, it’s 2.5 miles long, roundtrip from the parking lot, not 2 miles like the national forest website advertises.

Second, of the few trail signs there were, one was FLAT OUT WRONG (it was a trail closed sign that pointed to the only way back to the parking lot, and the trail was actually open). Another one was SO CONFUSING, and we would have started down the 50+ mile hike if my husband didn’t spot an Anne Stokes sign way down to the left on another tree (with his 20/20 vision).

Third, the first 0.6 miles of the loop are EXTREMELY covered in root obstacles, and is consistently uphill.

Finally, for most of the first half of the loop, the walkway is narrow and in between thick shrubs/bushes on both sides, and there’s no good views, with the exception of 1 lookout on top of the mine.

TLDR: there are plenty of better...

Castle/house ruins were fun to see and good for pictures.

As we visited mid November, there were some not-completely-unexpected challenges. The left side of the 'Anne Stokes loop' trail, close to the entrance (just before the ruins), was blocked by a recently downed tree, causing water to divert and cause a large muddy mess, so we skipped that trail. The path beyond the ruins (up the mountain) was not well marked (neither painted trail symbols on trees nor signage) and the recent leaf-fall covered most of the trail. You could still make out where the foliage was worn away, but upon reaching a large section of ledge, we lost the trail and turned back.

Once the leaf litter wears down or trails are cleaned up, this would probably be a great hike.

There's quite a steady incline ... Not scary, but could be a little taxing for those out of shape or with health issues. It should be fine if traveling slowly, but might slow down some groups if they need to keep everyone together.

Definitely worth the visit if you are in the area, even if only to...