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Community Corner

5 Great Spots to Take a Holiday Weekend Hike

Fairfield County has plenty of scenic routes to take a hike, whether you're a novice or an expert.

Drivers along the Merritt Parkway can scan the scenic Fairfield County views through their windshields, but there’s a better way to appreciate the verdant countryside. If you venture off the Merritt, you can discover one of the parks or preserves tucked away in those hills, and opportunities abound to explore peaceful trails on foot. Soon, birdcalls and babbling brooks will soothe the weary and supplant the noise of cars and blaring horns.

There are a multitude of easy day trip destinations for even a flip-flop clad novice seeking a tranquil nature walk. Here are five locations with options for experienced hikers as well as families with dogs, strollers, or mountain bikes.

Adjacent to the red barns of the in Fairfield is the Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary. For nonresidents there is a $2 fee for adults and $1 for children ages 12 to 18, but this is a fitting destination for families with very small children. Though there are numerous trails (maps available at kiosk), the well groomed and graded one-mile Chiboucas Trail is unique in that affords handicap access and is both stroller and wheelchair friendly.

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in Fairfield is an ideal place to hike with dogs. Though there is a fee to enter the sandy beach and sprinkler playground, the hiking trails around the man-made lake are free, and on a hot sunny day, the far corner of the ample parking lot becomes a marshalling yard for happy dogs and their owners hiking the lakeside trail to and from the designated dog beach.

If you’re willing to leave Fido at home, you might head to in Weston (no picnic, toilet, or other facilities. no pets or bikes on trails). Except for some evil mosquitoes, this preserve defies its name, and there is nothing man made about the pond, 1,700 acres of woods, swamps or rocky ridges, from which there are some spectacular vistas.

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The parking lot and kiosk are situated under a canopy of trees. Before you set out, consult the kiosk’s enlarged diagram of trails to note their lengths and take a copy of brochure, (thank you Nature Conservancy), which is full of suggestions and history, as well as a trail map, locations of swamps, streams, rivers, ponds, numbered posts and vistas.

For the novice, note, this inexperienced flatlander completed the round trip hike through the hilly woods, past ancient stonewalls, to Godfrey Pond and back to the parking lot in under 30 minutes.

, under the aegis of the Department of Environmental Protection, has a very unique feel.

A pair of bear and wolf family statues flanks the hilltop entrance. Just beyond the parking area, a half dozen picnic tables sit underneath ancient and majestic hardwood trees. Rather than feeling lured into a dark forest, the terrain at Huntington offers wonderful views, and accommodates mountain bikers, dog walkers and horseback riders.

Avid hiker, Bruce Rowley, 19, of Redding, who visits the park frequently said, “I like how during the evening, everyone is either running on the trails or kayaking in the pond. It’s really a forest loving community of folks.”

Huntington is as attractive a destination for the lone hiker as for a family, and it is difficult to get lost if you stick to the giant trail loop that encircles the park, or one of the pathways within it. Plus, the trail map at the entrance is folded to a handy pocket-size.

Further down the Merritt, in Greenwich, the offers picnicking, parking, bathrooms, and over 300 acres of woodlands and trails for hiking, jogging and dog walking.

Downtown Greenwich resident Kathy Callahan makes a habit of visiting the preserve with her husband, two sons and Wheaton Terrier, Penny, who makes her own friends on the trails.

“Hiking in the Babcock Preserve as a family helps us enjoy nature and each other’s company,” said Callahan. “It’s a chance to de-stress and slow down our pace, except for Penny, of course, with all her energy. She hasn’t slowed down yet.”

Happy hiking and don’t forget bug repellent for the mosquitoes and consider wearing long pants, socks and sneakers to ward off any ticks.

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