Dayton Road to Devil's Den
- Ownership
- Town of Redding, Redding Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy
- Entrances
- Off Dayton Road
- Parking
- Off Dayton Road
- Trails
- Bruzelius, 0.65 mile; Great Ledge, Pinchbeck/Ledge, 0.96
- Note: These are distances from Dayton Road to Weston line.
Total trail mileage in this area is 3.2. - Trail App
- Bruzelius Trail
Background: The trailheads at Dayton Road are Redding's gateway to the 1,600-acre Lucius Pond Ordway Preserve in Weston, otherwise known as Devil's Den. The road, one of the trails, and the 52-acre Town-owned tract on the western flank of this gateway are all named in honor of the Dayton family. It was Dr. and Mrs. Theodore R. Dayton who gave the Ledge area in Weston to The Nature Conservancy through a gift-purchase arrangement. The Dayton Tract in Redding was purchased by the Town in 1969. Another open space element here is a two-acre Land Trust property, donated by Constance Bruzelius Brererton Pharr, which abuts the Bruzelius Trail. Finally. There is the 6.8 acre Pinchbeck Sanctuary, acquired by the Land Trust in 1977 with funds provided by an anonymous benefactor, and Redding's own Great Ledge, the acquisition of which is described on page 70.
Key Features: Please note on the accompanying map that trail intersections in Devil's Den and along most approaches thereto are posted with numbered markers, which are referenced on the Den's trail map.
For hikes into the northern reaches of the Den, a good approach is via the Bruzelius Trail to either Deer Run or the Cedar Cliff Trail (though the Bruzelius is farthest from the Dayton Road parking lot). Along the way, the path skirts a large wetland area and passes the remains of an old charcoal chimney.
The Pinchbeck: Trail provides the most direct approach to the Great Ledge area. Beginning across Dayton road and slightly downhill from the parking area, the Pinchbeck follows Fox Lane for about a hundred feet before bearing off into the woods to the left. The trail soon crosses a mossy brook and pitches up a gradual slope through open woods. ❧
