Arthur F. Brinckerhoff Nature Preserve
- Ownership
- Redding Land Trust
- Acreage
- 85.92
- Entrance
- Beeholm Road, 0.4 mile up from route 107
- Parking
- Gravel strip at entrance. No parking on Farview Farm Rd or in Farview Farm lots - Farview Farm is a private association and may tow!
- Trails
- Ross's Ramble, 1.7 miles; Ensor's Trace, 1.55 miles (0.72 of this in Weston); Blue, 0.25;
- Total all trails: 3 miles (Redding only)
- Trail App
- Brinckerhoff Preserve
Background: The major portion of the Arthur E. Brinckerhoff Preserve, 51.3 acres, was given to the Redding Land Trust in 1967 by the heirs of Mary Brinckerhoff of Beeholm Road. It was named in memory of her brother, a well-known landscape architect. This original tract, consisting of two open fields and a woodland, was increased the following year by three gifts of adjacent. land; 10 acres from Rosalind Crissey, 7 acres from Dr. Frederick Baekeland, and 17 acres from Nina Baekeland Wyman. A trail entering off Beeholm Road had been established by Arthur Brinckerhoff while he owned the land, and additional trails linking all the parcels were laid out and cut by Clois Ensor.
Key Features: The Beeholm Road entrance is via a short boardwalk. The trail then leads to and crosses the two meadows, kept mowed and free of second growth by the Land Trust. Horseback riders may enjoy a canter the length of the first field near the east wall, at the end of which is an entrance to the horse trail. After crossing both fields, the main trail divides soon after entering the woods, with the main loop trail bearing right. The left fork leads to the short (blue) foot-trail, which travels along an old wood road and skirts moss-covered boulders. The white trail, one of the loveliest in town, goes through a varied hardwood forest with huge oak and tulip trees, spectacular stands of laurel, handsome rock cliffs and high ledges overlooking the woods below. Two seasonal small cascades, a couple of brooks and a swamp complete the scenery. In the summer of 1991, the first trail linking Brinckerhoff Preserve to Devil's Den, was dedicated as Ensor's Trace, in honor of its creator. It runs from the southernmost point of the White Trail into Devil's Den, eventually joining the Den’s Donohue Trail. Along the way, the Trace passes through thick stands of laurel, crosses bare ledges beside a handsome ravine, and rambles through open beech woods. ❧
