Enjoy an afternoon with the Branford Land Trust and Shore Line Trolley Museum as we explore the Beacon Hill Preserve. On Sunday, April 27, at 2:00 p.m., naturalists Lauren Brown and Julieann Michaelson will lead a walk to welcome the signs of spring and celebrate Arbor Day. We’ll look for the harbingers of spring: budding and sprouting trees, ephemeral wildflowers in bloom, ospreys returning to their nests in the tidal marshes, and bumble bees looking for nests along the forest floor. Thanks to our friends at the Shore Line Trolley Museum, we will be transported to the starting point of our hike in an authentic, historic trolley! Come early to visit their museum and learn about how these vehicles transformed and improved urban transportation. Stay late and take a peek in the barns where the beautifully restored trolley cars are kept.
This hike will explore Beacon Hill, a scenic Branford Land Trust property with 100-ft high traprock ridges overlooking the Farm River marshes and Long Island Sound. These sunny ridges support many different spring-blooming wildflowers, making it a perfect springtime walk.
We’ll meet at the parking lot of the Shore Line Trolley Museum, 17 River Street, East Haven. From there, we will ride the trolley about one mile down the tracks along the East Haven Marsh Wildlife Area. We will say goodbye to the trolley and begin our hike with a walk along the beautiful Farm River marsh. We will then hike up a steep incline to the forested traprock ridge to enjoy a picturesque overlook of Long Island Sound. We will continue along the ridgeline, and head down the slope and back to the Shore Line Trolley Museum parking lot, for a total of approximately 1.5 miles.
The event is free and open to the public. Duration: 2-3 hours. Families are welcome, but no dogs, please. Please wear appropriate clothes and comfortable, supportive walking shoes. Expect moderate terrain, with rocky underfooting, and some steep declines and inclines. Some muddy spots are expected. Bring water. Walking sticks are welcome.
The Branford Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, accredited by the Land Trust Alliance, established in 1967 to protect Branford’s open space and natural resources. Run by volunteers and supported by member families and businesses, the Land Trust maintains more than 30 miles of hiking trails, and manages and protects over 1,000 acres in more than 130 parcels and holds conservation easements on another 400 acres in Branford. For more information, visit www.branfordlandtrust.org.
Photo by Clare Hambly
