River Road, Roxbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut
57 acres
Directions:
Saw Mill River Parkway north to its end (at mile marker 29); get onto US 684 and go about 11 miles (to mile marker 28) to exit 9E for US 684 east; drive about 10.2 miles to get off at Exit 7 for Route 7 north; drive a mile to get off at Exit 1 for Federal Road; at the light make a left turn; drive down to the next light and turn right onto Federal Road north; drive about 1.6 miles to make a right turn onto Route 133; at 3.5 miles you cross the bridge over the Housatonic River (and you are in Bridgewater); keep going until you reach a T-intersection, the intersection with Route 67; drive into the town of Roxbury to make a right turn onto Wellers Bridge Road.
In a short drive take the first right onto River Road. The parking area is 0.5 miles on the right.
Or
From the Town Hall in Roxbury, continue on Route 67 north for 2.6 miles to Weller's Bridge Road. Turn left onto Weller's Bridge Road and take the first right onto River Road. The parking area is 0.5 miles on the right.
History:
1982 -- the Preserve was a gift of Frasier McCann.
Trails:
The moderate walk (with some steep climbs) is a trail loop of 1.5 miles.
The hiker on the River Road Trail should be struck by the great changes in the plant communities which occur over a relatively short distance. The Preserve lies on the eastern side of the Shepaug River, at the base of a tract of fertile farmland. Two hemlock-covered knolls separate the south end of the preserve from the north. The south end lies along a sharp bend in the river where the high waters of the Shepaug have carried silt and sand over the banks and formed a natural levee and floodplain.
The south end of the Preserve is also the site of Volunteers Bridge, built entirely by volunteers from the Town of Roxbury during the summer of 1991. The Bridge connects the River Road Preserve and the Erbacher Preserve. Picnic tables and an information bulletin board are also located here.
At the north end of the preserve, near the Town Pond, the land is more like the adjacent farmland and woodlands which rise to the east of River Road.
8/02/2005. On a very warm, humid day, dog Sonar and I just stopped to find the place. I did not bother writing down any of the plants. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
Source and Map:
http://wiki.retrovertigo.com/cgi-bin/WikiX.pl?RoxburyTrails/RiverRoadPreserve
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