Rocky Glen State Park
Dayton Road, Sandy Hook, Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut
Directions:
From US 84 heading east, get off at Exit 10. Turn right onto Route 34 east (Church Hill Road) and drive for a short ways and turn left onto Dayton Road. Follow the road to its end (a short drive) and park in the limited parking at the dead end by a house. You can see the trail marked with yellow diamond cut-outs.
Habitat:
hemlock grove, floodplain, marsh
History:
In 1839 Charles Goodyear discovered the process for vulcanizing rubber at a shop in the glen in Sandy Hook, which gave rise to the American rubber industry and lead to the establishment of a rubber factory in Rocky Glen.
Trails:
2/16/02. The yellow-diamond trail takes you through a small valley and then up and over a ridge down to a small stream and then to a dam. The blazed trail stops here, but you can follow an unblazed trail along the stream to a second dam by the Fabric Fire Hose Company (for lease for business offices).
9/01/2005. Dog Sonar and I parked just off on Dayton Road. The trail was right in front of us. The Newtown Trailway uses a blue arrow on a yellow diamond background. A short walk brought us to the falls along the river. Two streams meet here, one of them coming in from the north in greater quantity forming small waterfalls as they flow down the small drop. Farther along the trail there was an opening where we could reach the river. We had to squeeze between the many stinging nettles to get to the river. Another short walk down the trail brought us to an iron bridge over the river. It is a little dangerous to cross the bridge because there are no planks on the road, just the iron skeleton itself. I had to put my notes and field guide book into the back pack and then grab the dog with one hand, using the other hand to steady myself along the rail, and walk the iron rail very slowly one foot at a time.
As we neared the end of the trail, we saw a side trail off to the left. There is a sign with an arrow saying "To Al's Trail". I have no idea who Al is, but his white diamond trail heads up the rather steep ridge. (We did not follow it.)
At the end of the trail, on the right, there is a marsh/wet meadow with New York ironweed in bloom among others.
The path ended an the confluence with Farm Field Ridge Road. We turned around and made the short trip back to the car. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
dates = plants blooming on field trip, brief visit February 16, 2002 and longer one on 9/01/2005
Trees:
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Crataegus sp. (hawthorn)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Salix sp. (willow)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (spotted wintergreen)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Gaultheria procumbens (checkerberry)
Acer rubrum (red maple) 4/5/2002
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Staphylea trifolia (bladdernut)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
(mystery shrub, alternate entire leaves, honeysuckle bark, and short thorns)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Vincetoxicum nigrum (black swallowwort)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Herbs:
Actaea alba (white baneberry)
Agrimonia gryposepala (common agrimony)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (white baneberry)
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Aralia racemosa (spikenard)
Arctium minus (common burdock)
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack in the pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asarum canadense (wild ginger)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) 9/01/05
Bidens connata (swamp beggar tick)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Collinsoniacanadensis (horsebalm) 9/01/05fading
Epipactis helleborine (helleborine orchid)
Eupatorium sp. (Joe-Pye weed) 9/01/05fading
Galium sp. (bedstraw)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Helianthus strumosus (pale-leaved sunflower) 9/01/05
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) 9/01/05
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) 9/01/05
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco)
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort)
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) 9/01/05
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Medeola virginiana (Indian cucumberroot)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum pubescens (hairy true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) 9/01/05
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) 9/01/05
Polygonum hydropiper (water pepper) 9/01/05
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb) 9/01/05
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) 9/01/05
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Prenanthes sp. (rattlesnake root) 9/01/05soon
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Scutellaria lateriflora (maddog skullcap) 9/01/05
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solidago caesia (blue-stem goldenrod)
Solidago rugosa (rough-leaved goldenrod) 9/01/05
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue)
Typha sp. (cattail)
Urtica dioica var. dioica (stinging nettle) 9/01/05
lots and lots of it
Vernonia noveboracensis (New York ironweed)
Viola spp. (violet)
Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (sedges)
Carex lurida (sallow sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Scirpus cyperinus (woolly grass bulrush)
Grasses:
Leersia virginica (white grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Ferns:
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Athyrium thelypteroides (silvery glade fern)
Cystopteris sp. (fragile fern)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)
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