Norwalk
River Valley Trail System
View Southwestern
Connecticut Hiking Trails...online!!
On
October 15, 2000, Rudy Marconi, First Selectman of Ridgefield,
cut orange surveyor's tape to open the first leg of the Norwalk
River Valley Trails System. This portion traversed trails
on new and existing open-space lands owned by the towns of
Redding and Ridgefield and the State of Connecticut.
Guided
by the new trail blaze of white with a vertical blue line
down the middle, Lillian Willis, NRWA President, led a large
group of hikers along this retrofitted route that features
woodlands, mill ponds, streams, old dirt roads, and a remarkable
old stone causeway through wetlands.
Midway, participants were met by Eagle Scout Nick Chizzonite
of Ridgefield, who explained how he created a section of the
trail on open space at the junction of Route 7 and Great Pond
Road in Ridgefield. Other sections were created by a Student
Conservation Intern, Town of Ridgefield summer workers, and
Eagle Scout Spencer Sherman and Girl Scout Silver Awardee
Caitlin Helgesen - both of Ridgefield.
Starting
at Aldrich Park in Ridgefield, the trail has Redding sections,
goes back into Ridgefield along old dirt roads lined with
stone walls, and ends presently at the River Study Site at
Simpaug Turnpike and Route 7. Plans are afoot to have the
trail extend farther south and hook up to other parcels.
Another
long section from Route 33, South Main Street in Ridgefield,
into Wilton and back into Ridgefield, ending near the Weir
Farm National Historic Site, was previewed in two spring 2001
hikes.
In
spring 2002 a Ridgefield leg that incorporated three open
spaces and the refurbished CL&P railroad path was also previewed.
That trail is the subject of another Eagle Scout project.
NRWA
is working on extending this interlocking trail system and
on creating a map that will clarify locations and parking
areas for this system, which includes a connected parks tour
in Norwalk. In the meantime, additional guided hikes along
this system are listed in our Events
Calendar.
Eagle
Scout Projects Improve Trail System
Three
magnificent structures have been completed in the watershed
on land under the jurisdiction of the Ridgefield Conservation
Commission, which paid for all supplies. Ian Lipsitz built
a 46' x 30" raised walkway that connects Town land with
land owned by the National Park Service at the Weir Farm National
Historic Site. DJ Wolff built two bridges, 26' x 36"
and 29' x 36", to replace lighter structures at Aldrich
Park, the top end of the Norwalk River Valley Trail System.
Celebratory hikes to inaugurate all three structures took
place in January 2003.
Meanwhile,
three Scouts have volunteered for new watershed projects.
One will construct a bridge at the Georgetown Park NRWA is
creating with four other partners (Town of Redding, Redding
Garden Club, Georgetown Village Restoration, Inc., and Overbrook
Associates) at the junction of routes 107 and 57 in Georgetown
under a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star Grant
to NRWA. Another Scout will extend an existing trail, install
erosion bars, and mark the old rail line and two adjacent
Town of Ridgefield open spaces with the NRWA trail blaze.
Subject to secure easements, the third Boy Scout will construct
the missing off-road link in the trail from Route 33 in Ridgefield
through Wilton and back into Ridgefield at Weir Farm.
New
Segment
A new segment of the trail
system was started on the east side of Route 7 in Wilton when
the NRWA trail blaze was added to circumference trails on
the Gregg Preserve of the Wilton Land Conservation Trust and
the Belknap Preserve, owned by the Town of Wilton. Easy parking
may be found at the Mayapple Road cul-de-sac entrance to the
Gregg Preserve off Honey Hill and Route 7. The next step in
this trail leg is to blaze to and through the Aspetuck Land
Trust's Honey Hill Preserve north into Weston.
Kayaking, Rowing & Sailing
- The Small Boat Shop - http://www.thesmallboatshop.com/
- Norwalk River Rowing Association
- http://www.norwalkriverrowing.org/
- Norwalk Leander Rowing Club -
http://www.nlrowing.com/index.html
- Maritime Rowing Club on the Norwalk
River - http://www.maritimerowing.net/
- AMC Connecticut Chapter's Flatwater
& Coastal Paddling http://www.ct-amc.org/flatwater/index.shtm
- Conn Yak (Connecticut Sea Kayakers)
http://connyak.org/
- Norwalk Sailing School - www.norwalksailingschool.org
- Sound Sailing Center - www.soundsailingcenter.com
Hiking Trails
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