186 acres in Bethany and Beacon Falls, CT
Parking:
Trail Map Trails: 3.8 miles Rating: ★★★★☆
This trio of properties offers varied wooded trails highlighted by the area around Hockanum Pond.
I started my hike from the south end, entering through the 36 acre Woodward Preserve on the yellow trail. After passing a small retention pond the trail climbs steadily into the property to pass the highest points at 690' to meet an old woods road. The road appears to be a main thoroughfare for hikers and (hopefully only in the past) ATVs.
I jumped onto the red trail into Mendell's Folly taking a right onto the White Birches Trail which descends down through open forest to meet Tibby's Trail alongside Hockanum Brook. I followed the trail towards the Tower marked on the map finding the trail predictably wet along the marsh in this section. The tower is a 10' high viewing platform out over the marsh and I spent a few minutes listening to the varied bird calls and spotting a red wing blackbird among the rushes.
I continued along the trail southwest as the marsh turned to open pond and spotted the beaver lodges and much evidence of their work. The path is narrow and rocky along the water making but well crafted too. The area reminded me of Breakneck Pond in Bigelow Hollow. There is a large beaver dam at the pond's outlet and a large fallen tree that offers itself as a bridge to cross the water. Thankfully volunteers of the land trust were building a handsome bridge that was just shy of completion on my May 2025 visit.
On the other side awaits a set of stone steps climbing the steep bank along the pond and more views over the water. I turned onto the West Ridge Loop for a short extension to the hike before retracing my steps to the Mesa Drive parking area.
From the Bethany Land Trust site:
Mendell’s Folly was given to the Trust in 1971 by Elizabeth “Tibby” Mendell. One of the original incorporators of the Land Trust, Tibby and her husband Clarence Mendell, the former Dean of Yale College and Sterling Professor of Classics at Yale, had purchased the property and adjoining pieces in 1936.
In all, the Mendells acquired 190 acres. Some of the land had been a cow pasture, some an apple orchard, some just plain Bethany woods. It’s been said that one of Clarence Mendell’s students, on seeing this wilderness of muddy fields and rocky hillsides, called it Mendell’s Folly, a play on the name Seward’s Folly given to the U.S. purchase of Alaska. After Clarence Mendell died, Tibby remained in Bethany on her “Folly.”
Peter Marteka - No Folly In Bethany, Just Beauty (2012)
Last updated: May 3rd, 2025 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.
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