Woodbridge Land Trust

Woodbridge Land Trust
Woodbridge (duh)

wltWhat up, Woodbridge! Holla!

I just figured that since Woodbridge is one of those towns no one ever thinks about, I would shout them out. I’m sure they appreciate it.

The funny thing is, in the circles I run (read: drink) in, Woodbridge is perhaps the most important town in Connecticut. If anyone from out-of-state flew into Hartford and said, “Steve, direct me to the best beer in your fine state,” I’d send them straight down 91, onto 15, through the tunnel and into Amity/Woodbridge.

And straight to the New England Brewing Company. Nirvana. (Amity, by the way, is one of those rare fake towns that spans two real town – Woodbridge and New Haven. Mystic, of course, is the most well known one, spanning Stonington and Groton, but there are a couple others that I forget right now.)

But if that same person said, “Send me to the best hiking in the state,” I wouldn’t send him anywhere near Woodbridge. Not that Woodbridge isn’t lovely, but come on. (Actually, with trails up the west side of Wast Rock connecting to the Regicides Trail, there is definitely some good stuff here.)

However, this is me and I do what I do, so I go hiking in Woodbridge. And then, the plan as of now is, I then go to NEBCO afterwards. Everybody wins.

Even the Woodbridge Land Trust, who now has the floor:

Established in 1964, the Woodbridge Land Trust, Inc. is one of the oldest land trusts in Connecticut. We are a nonprofit corporation led by a Board of Directors, a group of committed volunteers, devoted to the conservation, preservation and protection of our natural resources. Through generous land and financial gifts, continued efforts of volunteers, and cooperation from town agencies, we work to ensure that working farms, forestland, wildlife habitats, wetlands and other precious and often threatened open spaces will be available today and for future generations to enjoy. We encourage you to hike our trails and explore our properties.

I will be tasked with sorting out the overlap between the WLT and the SCRCOG and SCCRWA properties (which require a permit), but that’s what you expect me to do. No one wants to mix up their SCRCOG with their SCCRWA and their WLT.

composeThat would be dangerous. (And I haven’t even mentioned the overlap with the CFPA, WCC, WPA. This stuff is not too good for my OCD.)

It seems that most of the WLT properties cross various ownership lines, hence all the acronyms. The bonus of all this, for me, is by hiking Woodbridge, I’m also getting a jump on the SCRCOG properties as well. An interesting sidenote to hiking Woodbridge is that, according to the WLT, many of their trail miles follow the “historic” Naugatuck Trail.

Today, the Naugatuck Trail, which is managed by the CFPA, only extends south to southern Bethany, just north of Woodbridge. But it used to continue south to New Haven, and the WLT has kept those trails cleared, blazed CFPA blue, and named “Naugatuck.” So that’s pretty cool.

As for the RWA(S. Connecticut Regional Water Authority) land and trails that need permits to hike, they sort of break up the continuity of the WLT trails, but we’ll get through it all.

Somehow, someday.

Woodbridge Land Trust

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The Preserves and Hikes:

If linked, I’ve hiked it.

Alice Newton Street Memorial Park Trails
Amity to Dillon Road Trail (RWA permit required)
Bishop Estate East Trails, 9/21/2014
Bishop West Trails, 9/21/2014
Bladens Brook, Russell Swamp & Round Hills Trails
Elderslie Preserve Trails
Fitzgerald Tract Trails
Historic Indian Trails Park Lane Area
Meadows Tract to Fitzgerald Tract Trails
Newton Road Park Trail System
Pine Hill Trail Systerm (RWA permit required)
Race Brook Estates Blue Trails
Race Brook Tract

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CTMQ’s Land Trust Trails Page
CTMQ’s Non-CFPA Trails page

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