Audubon, Nature Conservancy, South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, and US Army Corps of Engineers Trails
Lots of changes and updates going on here in January 2021. Please bear with me.
I’ve thrown a bunch of very different entities’ trails together on this one main page because… because I wanted to. And while you may think these are not hikes worth your time and effort, I’m here to tell you otherwise. Below is some of the best and most interesting hiking I’ve done in the state.
Jump to Audubon Trails
Jump to The Nature Conservancy Trails
Jump to the Regional Water Authority Trails
Jump to the US Army Corps of Engineers Trails
Sharon Audubon
Audubon Trails
You may be familiar with some of the Audubon centers in the state, but there are lots of Audubon sanctuaries and such with trails. This can get very confusing because of the different Audubon organizations and I used to really care about the distinctions, but I don’t so much anymore.
National Audubon and National Chapter Sanctuaries
Riverbound Farm Sanctuary, Cheshire
Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary, Guilford
Audubon Greenwich Sanctuary, Greenwich
Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary, Greenwich
Gimbel Sanctuary, Greenwich
Hemlock Gorge, Greenwich
Mildred Caldwell Sanctuary of Walden Woods, Greenwich
Onieda Sanctuary, Greenwich
Wood Duck Swamp, Greenwich
Kalmia Sanctuary, Harwinton
Boyd Woods Sanctuary, Litchfield
Wigwam Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Litchfield
Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary, Portland
Audubon Sharon Main Sanctuary, Sharon
Miles Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharon
Audubon Center Bent of the River, Southbury
Connecticut Audubon Sanctuaries
Greenstone Hollow, East Granby
Harlo N. Haagenson Preserve, East Haddam
Birdcraft Sanctuary, Fairfield
Elsa Feiler Denburg Woodland Conservation Area, Fairfield
Banks South Farm, Fairfield
John W. Field and John Mahoney Sanctuary, Fairfield
Roy and Margot Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary, Fairfield
Richard G. Croft Memorial Preserve, Goshen
Haddam Wildflower Gorge, Haddam
Trail Wood: The Edwin Way Teale Memorial Sanctuary, Hampton
Smith-Hubbell Wildlife Refuge and Bird Sanctuary, Milford
Cromwell Meadows, Middletown
Morgan R. Chaney Sanctuary, Montville
Bafflin Sanctuary, Pomfret
Edward Steichen Memorial Wildlife Preserve, Redding
Deer Pond Farm, Sherman
Station 43, South Windsor
Stratford Point, Stratford
Lewis Farm, Suffield
Grace Robinson Nature Sanctuary, Weston
H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve and Christmas Tree Farm, Westport
Tobacco Valley Wildlife Refuge, Windsor (no trails?)
The Nature Conservancy Trails
The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. As straightforward as that sounds, I can’t figure out their Connecticut land-holding presence for the life of me. Their list of properties is in constant flux because, I think, they often cede their lands to towns or land trusts. Maybe that’s their point? I’m not sure, so, you know, this particular list isn’t gospel.
*Probably no longer TNC property. Maybe.
Taine Mountain, Burlington
Hollenbeck Preserve, Canaan
Cathedral Pines Preserve, Cornwall*
Burnham Brook Preserve, East Haddam
Chapman Pond Preserve, East Haddam
Turtle Creek, Essex*
Bailey’s Ravine at Ayers Gap Preserve, Franklin*
Iron Mountain Preserve, Kent*
Dennis Farm Preserve, Ledyard
Poquetanuck Cove Preserve, Ledyard*
Pleasant Valley Preserve, Lyme
Selden Creek, Lyme
Lord Cove Preserve, Lyme
Whalebone Cove Preserve, Lyme*
Pratt and Post Coves Preserves, Lyme*
Lucius Pond Ordway/Devil’s Den Preserve, Weston & Redding
Higby Mountain Preserve, Middlefield & Middletown*
Spiderweed Preserve, Middletown*
Sunny Valley Preserves, New Milford & Bridgewater
Rock Spring Preserve, Scotland
Weir Preserve, Wilton
Weston Farms, Weston
South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority Trails
The RWA trails get their own special section because you must purchase a permit and often access them through locked gates. And while you may find that off-putting, the reasons are valid and the properties are usually beautiful.
Lake Bethany, Bethany
Lake Chamberlain, Bethany and Woodbridge
Lake Saltonstall, Branford and East Haven
Sugarloaf, Guilford
Genesee, Guilford and Madison
Lake Gaillard, North Branford (open once every few years)
Lake Hammonasset, Killingworth and Madison
Maltby Lakes, New Haven, Orange, and West Haven
Big Gulph, North Branford
Pine Hill Trails, Seymour and Woodbridge
Amity Road to Dillon Road, Woodbridge
US Army Corps of Engineers Trails
For about 14 years, these properties just sort of lingered on the periphery of how I organize trails on the site. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has constructed 12 flood risk management protection dams and three hurricane protection projects in Connecticut. Working with the state of Connecticut, the Corps provides quality outdoor recreational opportunities at a bunch of the Corps-operated flood risk management reservoirs, I we should hike at all of them.
Black Rock Lake, Thomaston & Watertown
Colebrook River Lake, Colebrook
Hancock Brook Lake, Plymouth
Hop Brook Lake, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Waterbury
Mansfield Hollow Lake, Mansfield
Northfield Brook Lake, Thomaston
Thomaston Dam, Thomaston
West Thompson Lake, Thompson
Mad River Flood Control Area/Secret Lake, Winchester
Colebrook River Lake
CTMQ’s Hikes, Bikes, & Paddles
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