Champlain North

Champlain North

Old Lyme Town Park

65 acres in Old Lyme, CT

Parking: Small pull off near 6 Wyckford Ln, Old Lyme, CT

Trail Map             Trails: 1.6 miles         Rating: Unexplored

This is a partial/incomplete listing as I have not yet explored Champlain North.

From the town’s website,

The main “red” trail has been named the “Diana Atwood Johnson Trail” by the Open Space Commission and the Board of Selectmen in honor of the noted environmentalist and long-time commission chair. Ms. Atwood Johnson owned the adjacent Old Lyme Inn for over 25 years.

As you enter the property, you’ll find a typically rolling New England landscape, sculpted by colliding continents hundreds of millions of years ago, and polished by glaciers over tens of thousands of years.

Very shortly along the red trail, you’ll notice Formica ant hills, a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. Their nests can consist of a turret of soil above large mounds.

Continuing along the flat terrain, you’ll reach the Barbizon Oak. At over sixteen feet in circumference, the 300-year-old Barbizon is one of Connecticut’s largest white oaks. The famous oak was named in honor of the Old Lyme art colony, created in the late 19th century as an American equivalent to the French Barbizon School of painting. Many esteemed artists painted en plein air walking from Florence Griswold’s nearby home and property (now the museum).

History:

Links:

The information shown here is for general reference purposes only. exploreCT.org gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or reliability of this data. Parking in all areas, whether designated here or not, is at your own risk. exploreCT.org is not responsible for any damage or loss to vehicles or contents.