Above All State Park
Warren, Litchfield County, Connecticut
31 acres
Directions:
From the intersection of Routes 7 and 341 in Kent, drive 8.3 miles to a right turn onto Sackett Hill Road; drive past the Town Hall, fire house, and library to make a right turn onto Above All Road. Drive a little less than a mile to park by a green gate on the left side of the road.
Geology:
The park sits on the mountain known as Above All, which has an evaluation of 1,480 feet above sea level.
History:
1935 -- on R. 45, about a mile above the Lake, a dirt road leads northwest to Above All State Park with a fine view to the west.
Trails:
8/18/2005. Just a quick stop to find out exactly where this place is. Just noted down a few of the roadside plants in bloom by the green gate. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
8/22/2005. On a beautiful day, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked by the green gate. We walked around the gate and then followed the path uphill. The trail here reminds me a bit of a railroad causeway through wetlands on either side. Coming to the top of the hill we found an abandoned concrete-block structure of one story. There was a nice field around the structure and we picked up a number of plants for the plant list. On first look we did not find a path. But walking the perimeter slowly, we found a path off to the side but behind the concrete structure.
We walked down the rough path a short ways and found a yellow trail marker. We followed the trail for a short ways until it reached a road near house #135. We walked onto the road for a better look at the neighborhood, then popped back into the woods to return to the concrete building and then our car.
On the way back we kept hoping we would find another trail, but no such luck. We then decided to walk along the road looking at the roadside and woods edge plants.
We guessed that a person could walk from the gate to the concrete building and the road, and then turn right and walk along the road back to the car, bearing right along the way. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = blooming on 8/22/2005
Trees:
Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula papyrifera (white birch)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Castanea dentata (American chestnut)
Crataegus sp. (hawthorn)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus malus (apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Lyonia ligustrina (maleberry)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet)
Vaccinium angustifolium (lowbush blueberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum lentago (nannyberry viburnum)
Vines:
Apios americana (groundnut) *
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) *
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) *
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster umbellatus (flat-topped aster) *
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) *
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink)
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) *
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod) *
Galium mollugo (wild madder) *
Geum canadense (white avens) *
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) *
Hieracium paniculatum (panicled hawkweed) *
Hieracium sp. (hawkweed) *
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco) *
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) *
Monotropa uniflora (Indian pipe)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) *
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Pilea pumila (clearweed) *
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum biflorum (smooth true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal) *
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) *
Rumex acetosella (field sorrel)
Saponaria officinalis (bouncing bet) *
Silene vulgaris (bladder campion)
Solidago canadensis var. canadensis (Canada goldenrod) *
Solidago gigantea (late goldenrod) *
Solidago spp. (goldenrod) *
Stellaria pubera (star chickweed) *
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Trientalis borealis (starflower)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Grasses:
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Elytrigia repens (quack grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern)
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