Hoffman Evergreen Preserve

Avalonia Land Trust

199 acres in Stonington, CT

Parking: Small lot near 532-632 CT-201, Stonington, CT

Trail Map         Trails: 3 miles       Rating: ★★★☆☆

My first hike of Hoffman Evergreen Preserve happened to be the day before it closed for a few months for a timber harvest that alters the land for years to come.  I hiked every trail and tried to record as much as I could for posterity and comparison.  The timber harvest has long since completed, but I haven’t been back so this description may not be up to date.

Hiking

After crossing Rt. 201 I entered the preserve through the gap in the stone wall and followed the red trail over a small hill to follow a long stretch of pine shaded trail along a stonewall.

At the time the orange trail was newly added and not shown on the existing trail map so I followed it noting a small den in a hill just off the trail.  The trail soon reached a junction with the red trail which I followed through open pines to a few small stonewall pens.

The red trail dumps you on the loop part of the blue trail at the far end of the property.  This section appears to be an old farm road that continued off the preserve’s property but instead the trail loops back on little used trail over a hilly section.

Off the blue trail used to be a “Pine Circle” trail, a short loop through a stunning pine grove, but I’m guessing this area was .  Just beyond this area is a slow climb to Bennett’s Yard an old 19th century cemetery.  The cemetery features a number of graves dating back to the 1800s.

I returned to the trailhead on yellow and blue trails which were nice extensions to lengthen the hike, but didn’t really offer much for points of interest.

History:

Preserved in 1976.

Links:

Peter Marteka – Robert Hoffman Created A Piece Of Canada In Stonington (2015)

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Last updated August 6th, 2019