40 acres in Bolton, CT
Parking:
Trail Map Trails: 1.5 miles Rating: ★★☆☆☆
The Edith Toomey Clark Preserve is only accessible through the Hop River Trail and can easily be combined with the Heritage Farm with its revolutionary war encampment site.
From the parking on Steeles Crossing Rd walk about .2 miles to the sign for the Clark Preserve. The trail is well blazed and heads down into the woods and soon splits into a loop. I followed it counter-clockwise. I was visiting in February and it had just snowed a couple inches, but someone on a fat tire bike had already beaten me out onto the trail. You’re heading in the direction of the Hop River basin but the terrain swoops and curves amidst small streams. The trail crosses over these streams a few times and require careful footing and rock hopping.
At the backside of the loop you reach a marshy area. A set of tracks came out of the marsh that I would guess were coyote so I followed them for a bit through the snow until they entered back into the reeds. The trail the begins to head uphill again.
The real surprise here was the gorge. It was gorgeous covered in snow with a long series of cascades. I climbed down a treacherous bank trying to capture it, but I don’t think the photo does it justice. Steve from CTMQ added them to his list of waterfalls and gave them the name Johnson Pond Falls. From the gorge the trail nears private property and you can see a pavilion in the woods. You soon reach the entrance trail and return to the Hop River Trail.
A blue trail has since been added with access to the Hop River so I have not yet explored it.
From the Bolton Land Trust site:
This property was donated to the Bolton Land Trust in October 2018 by longtime Bolton resident Jim Clark and former Bolton resident Nancy Fleming. In the Clark/Fleming family for 46 years, the land was given in memory of Edith Toomey Clark who died in September 2017. Jim and Nancy felt that Edie would have wanted the property to become part of the preserved landscape of Bolton which Edie so loved.
CTMQ – BLT: Edith Toomey Clark Property (2020)
Peter Marteka – A hike through farm fields with stunning views to a peaceful preserve along the Hop River in Bolton (2019)
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