Twin Lakes
Between the Lakes Road, Salisbury, Litchfield County, CT

Source: Land Trust of the Salisbury Association


Directions:

Taking US 44 from Millerton, NY into Connecticut, go through the town of Salisbury, pass by Twin Lakes Road on the left and the Salisbury School on the right to reach the Between the Lakes Road on the left that goes between the ponds. (Between the Lakes Road is 2.5 miles northeast of the junction of Routes 41 & 44 in Salisbury center.)


Trails:

The trail follows a town maintained gravel road that runs between and close to the Twin Lakes: Washinee and Washining. The 2 mile long trail starts at Rt. 44 and goes north and northwest to Twin Lakes Road in the north in the area of Taconic (one-half mile east of the Taconic Post Office).

8/05/2005.  3 day vacation with the family.  In the morning we visited Bingham Pond.  Then we drove over to Millerton, NY just over the border to get lunch at McDonalds.  Our main stop in the afternoon was at Twin Lakes.  To the hiker, the road that goes between Washinee Lake on the west and Washining Lake on the east appears more like an alternating road with first Washinee Lake being visible on the west and then Washining Lake on the east. 

It was a terribly hot and humid day so we decided just to walk the best part of the trail, that by Washining Lake.  We parked the car off the road at the intersection with West Shore Place and walked south along Washining Lake. There is private property on both sides of the road which limits the walker's access to the vegetation.  But we did see some lakeside vegetation.  There is also some swampy area along the road. 

It started slowly to rain and so we headed back to the car.  A short but sweet visit.  The sky grew very dark and it started to pour.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.


PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney

* =  plant(s) blooming on date of field trip, 8/05/2005


Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Betula papyrifera (white birch)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Fraxinus pensylvanica (green ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus malus (apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix sp. (willow)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs and Subshrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder) 
Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush)
Cornus amomum (corn dogwood)
Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Hypericum densiflorum (dense-flowered St. Johnswort)   ?     *
Hypericum prolificum (shrubby St. Johnswort)     *
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow honeysuckle)
Philadelphus sp. (mock orange)
Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)  
Salix sp. (willow)  
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet)     *
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 riparia (riverbank grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow)     * 
Agrimonia gryposepala (agrimony)     *
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed)
Asparagus officinalis (asparagus)
Bidens sp. (beggar tick)
Cichorium intybus (chicory)     *
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)     *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)     *
Desmodium canadense (showy tick trefoil)     *
Eupatorium perfoliatum (boneset)     *
Galium mollugo (wild madder)     *
Geranium sp. (geranium)
Hieracium sp. (hawkweed)
Hypericum punctatum (spotted St. Johnswort)     *
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)     
Lactuca serriola (prickly lettuce)
Lilium superbum (turk's cap lily)      *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs)     *
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife)     *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)      *
Medicago lupulina (black medick)   *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover)      *
Nymphaea odorata (white water lily)     *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum amphibium var. stipulaceum (water smartweed)     *
Pontederia cordata (pickerel weed)     *
Pycnanthemum sp. (mountain mint)     *
Ranunculus acris (tall buttercup)     *
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan)    *
Sanicula marilandica (black sanicle)
Silene latifolia (white campion)     *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)      *
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod)     *
Solidago juncea (early goldenrod)     *
Solidago sp. (goldenrod)    
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)   
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue)     
Trifolium pratense (red clover)    *
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)  
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)     *
Zizia aurea (golden Alexanders)

Sedges:
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)

Grasses:
Andropogon gerardii (turkey claw)
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda regalis (royal fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern)

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