Connecticut has its fair share of rail trails—converted train beds for hiking and biking. Trolley trails are less common, but that’s just what you get with Branford’s Trolley Trail, a (more…)
A Day at the Beach
I was expecting a bracing wind and frozen toes when I set out for a walk one morning. What I got was a day at the beach. (more…)
Fall Back
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. —The Misunderstanding by Albert Camus Not every New Haven leaf is a flower. Not yet. But there’s no missing that the (more…)
Stroll Call
I’m not sure if it’s a hike or a simple walk in the woods we’re undertaking on a recent weekend at Housatonic Overlook and Tucker’s Ridge in Orange. The trail is relatively easy, and since the pinnacle lies just beyond where we parked (at the end of High Ridge Road), if it’s just the view […]
On the Edge
Cycling south from the top of Yale Avenue takes advantage of one of the better designated bike routes in New Haven. You’ve got (more…)
Tree Alarm
Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight have long since routed New Haven’s native elms and chestnuts. Now American beech trees—a keystone species in eastern forests, distinguished by their smooth, elephant-gray bark and leaves lined with spike-tipped veins—are under siege (more…)
Supply Lines
You can’t help feeling prepared at the main entrance to the Branford Supply Pond and Pisgah Brook Preserves (more…)
Fast Breaks
We hardly need research—although it’s out there—to know that spending time in nature is good for us. In Hamden, I’ve found that source of goodness in unexpectedly convenient places, the kind you can pop into and out of while running errands. On the Hamden Land Conservation Trust’s Servoss/Mather Kettle Property, trailheads near Dawes and Mather […]