Springer Glen Open Space
Acquired:  1971-1976
Acreage:  38.0 acres
Uses:  hiking, fishing, wildlife conservation, wetland  
Access:  north side of Stillson Road; north of intersection with Mill Plain Road;  south end of Pheasant Lane

Directions:

Merritt Parkway north to exit 44; turn left and at the light turn right onto Black Rock Turnpike; turn right onto Samp Mortar Drive.  Pass by the pull-off near the dam holding back the waters of Samp Mortar Reservoir, turn left at the Elks Lodge heading up Brookside Drive; turn right onto North Benson Road.  Very quickly turn right onto Pheasant Lane; head to the dead-end of the road.  There is a open space sign here.  

Another parking area is at Stillson Road; instead of turning right on Pheasant Lane, continue down to the intersection with Stillson Road and turn right onto Stillson Road heading west; the sign for the open space is on the right of Stillson Road  a short way past Hersh Road. 

Trail:

12/01/2005.  This visit to Springer Glen was by serendipity.  We parked along Samp Mortar Drive at one of the asphalt pull-off areas just west of the intersection  Brookside Drive at Riverside Park.  This linear park parallels and is adjacent to the north side of the Mill River.  I was surprised at how long the park is.  The park starts at the Elks Lodge at the intersection of Samp Mortar Drive and Brookside Drive, passing Mountain Laurel Road, Galloping Hill Road, and then to its end at the intersection with Mill Plain Road.   There are picnic tables and grills along the way.  At the end the park is much enlarged with a more formal parking area. 

I walked south along the Mill Plain Road  for a short distance to cross the bridge spanning the Mill River.  I then found a yellow blazed trail heading along the south side of the Mill River heading east back toward Brookside Drive.  I followed the trail along the river for a short ways until it turned right and headed uphill.  It was here that I realized that I was leaving Riverside Park and heading into Spring Glen Open Space.  The trail forks, the yellow continuing straight south and the red heading southeast over to the south end of Pheasant Lane where there is a sign for the open space and parking places. 

I jumped off the red trail think I could find an informal trail along the river that would take me over to Brookside Drive.  But the path soon petered out and I had to bushwhack the rest of the way.  And in places it was no easy going as there were masses of multiflora rose or blackberry.  And at times I got too close to private property for comfort.  I was half expecting to see a police car drive up.  I finally made it, turned left on Brookside Drive and headed over to Samp Mortar Drive and to the car.   Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, 12/01/2005

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus spp. (oak)
Ulmus sp. (elm)

Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepper bush)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Forsythia sp. (golden bells)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Rhododendron sp. (rhododendron)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Vinca minor (periwinkle)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Iris sp. (blue or yellow flag)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Rumex sp. (dock)
Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)

Sedges:
Carex lurida (sallow sedge)

Ferns:
Lycopodium obscurum (ground pine)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)