Land Trusts

Land trusts are abundant in our state preserving properties of all sizes from development. There are 117 land trusts in Connecticut protecting 190,550 acres of land for hiking and recreation, ecological buffer zones, wildlife habitat, and undeveloped spaces. As of 2024 there are

89 single town land trusts
22 multi-town/regional
6 statewide

Land trusts are mostly non-profit and community based, seeking to preserve the forests, river corridors, farmland, watersheds, marshes, scenic vistas, and hiking trails in a given town or region. Land Trust are also largely volunteer operated and are a great way to get involved in your area.

A complete directory courtesy of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council can be found here:

Currently only the largest and regional land trusts are listed here. As this site continues to develop I hope this page will provide a more polished and complete representation of Connecticut’s land trusts.

Aspetuck Land Trust
Avalonia land Conservancy, Inc.
Wolf Den Land Trust (ECLFA)
Eversource Land Trust
Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust, Inc.
Great Meadows Conservation Trust
Heritage Land Preservation Trust
Joshua’s Trust
Kongscut Land Trust, Inc.
Middlesex Land Trust
Northern Connecticut Land Trust
Roxbury Land Trust
Waterford Land Trust, Inc.
Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust
Wintonbury Land Trust
Wyndham Land Trust

Church Farm

★★☆☆☆

41.838798, -72.171105

Church Farm Joshua’s Trust Property 79 acres in Ashford, CT Parking: Main Parking: Small pull off near 29 Varga Rd, Ashford, CT for blue access trail Shoulder… Read more…

Utley Hill Preserve

★★☆☆☆

41.697347, -72.324801

Utley Hill Preserve and Columbia Recreation Park Joshua’s Trust Property and Columbia Town Park 275 acres in Columbia, CT (125 for Joshua’s Trust and 150 for the… Read more…

Josias Byles Sanctuary

★★☆☆☆

41.868035, -72.150976

Josias Byles Sanctuary Joshua’s Trust Property 69 acres in Ashford, CT Parking: Small pull off near 111 Ashford Center Rd Ashford, CT Trail Map Trails:…

Talcott Ravine

★★★☆☆

41.823406, -72.493271

Talcott Ravine Northern Connecticut Land Trust Property 26 acres in Vernon, CT Parking: Medium sized lot near 9 Main St Vernon, CT Map …

Tinkerville Brook

★★☆☆☆

41.927542, -72.207901

Tinkerville Brook Joshua’s Trust Preserve 42 acres in Ashford, CT Parking: Small pull-off near 135 Armitage Rd, Ashford, CT Trail Map Trails: 1.2 miles …

Whetten Woods

★★☆☆☆

41.807737, -72.239070

Nate and Theora Whetten Woods Joshua’s Trust Property 37 acres in Mansfield, CT Parking: At the Hope Lutheran Church near 62 Dog Ln, Storrs, CT Small lot… Read more…

Bernard Church Woods

★☆☆☆☆

41.818962, -72.153062

Bernard Church Woods Joshua’s Trust 37 acres in Chaplin, CT Parking: Shoulder parking near 385 Bujak Rd, Chaplin, CT Trail Map Trails: 0.5 miles …

Jones Mountain

★★★☆☆

161 Steele Rd, New Hartford, CT 06057

Jones Mountain Preserve New Hartford Land Trust 284 acres in New Hartford, CT Parking: Shoulder parking near 161 Steele Rd, New Hartford, CT Trail Map …