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Great Mountain Forest | |
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![]() Old Man McMullen Pond in Great Mountain Forest. | |
Location | Falls Village, Norfolk, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States |
Coordinates | 41°57′55.332″N73°16′14.16″W / 41.96537000°N 73.2706000°W Coordinates: 41°57′55.332″N73°16′14.16″W / 41.96537000°N 73.2706000°W |
Area | 6,000 acres (24 km2) |
Elevation | 1,740 ft (530 m) Crissy Ridge (closed to public) |
Established | 2003 |
Governing body | Great Mountain Forest Corporation (a 501c3 private operating foundation) |
Website | www |
The Great Mountain Forest is a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental conservation, education and awareness located in Falls Village, Connecticut in the Town of Canaan, Connecticut and Norfolk, Connecticut. Great Mountain Forest contains over 6,000 acres of wetlands and uplands, including recreational trails and private forest roads. [1]
The Great Mountain Forest administrative office is located at 200 Canaan Mountain Road, Canaan, Connecticut. The "west gate" into Great Mountain Forest is a few hundred feet to the south (and down hill) of 200 Canaan Mountain Road.
The Great Mountain Forest forestry office is located at 201 Windrow, Norfolk, Connecticut. This location is near the "east gate" into the Great Mountain Forest property.
The Great Mountain Forest is an actively managed forest including planting, thinning and harvesting operations. Visitors should be aware of their surroundings as lumber trucks regularly carry loads on the forest roads.
The Great Mountain Forest also has a conservation awareness mission, often holding educational programs for both adults and children where experts explain the natural history and habitats found on the property.
Yale University's School of the Environment (formerly the School of Forestry and Environmental Science) maintains a permanent camp on the property where they hold an orientation session for incoming graduate students.
There are approximately 13 miles of forest roads as well as several miles of trails on the property which can be used for walking, running, and cross-country-skiing. Mountain biking is permitted on the forest roads but only on specifically designed trails. Horseback riding is not permitted on the property.
Hunting is permitted in specific areas and times during the year.
Boating using only Great Mountain Forest's small craft is allowed.
The Great Mountain Forest contains large areas of mountainous highlands, wetlands and freshwater lakes and ponds.
Many varieties of flora and fauna exist in Great Mountain Forest. A 2021 census recorded 21 moose living in Great Mountain Forest.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is an American national park that conserves an area of large sand dunes up to 750 feet (230 m) tall on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and an adjacent national preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Range, in south-central Colorado, United States. The park was originally designated Great Sand Dunes National Monument on March 17, 1932, by President Herbert Hoover. The original boundaries protected an area of 35,528 acres. A boundary change and redesignation as a national park and preserve was authorized on November 22, 2000, and then established on September 24, 2004. The park encompasses 107,342 acres while the preserve protects an additional 41,686 acres for a total of 149,028 acres. The recreational visitor total was 527,546 in 2019.
The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park's boundary roughly corresponds with the Adirondack Mountains. Unlike most state parks, about 52 percent of the land is privately-owned inholdings. State lands within the park are known as Forest Preserve. Land use on public and private lands in the park is regulated by the Adirondack Park Agency. This area contains 102 towns and villages, as well as numerous farms, businesses and an active timber-harvesting industry. The year-round population is 132,000, with 200,000 seasonal residents. The inclusion of human communities makes the park one of the great experiments in conservation in the industrialized world. The Forest Preserve was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.
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Pachaug State Forest is the largest forest in the Connecticut state forest system, encompassing over 27,000 acres (110 km²) of land. It is located on the Rhode Island border in New London County, and parcels of the forest lie in the towns of Voluntown, Griswold, Plainfield, Sterling, North Stonington, and Preston. The forest was founded in 1928, but most of the land came from purchases made later during the Great Depression. It is named after the Pachaug River, which runs through the center of the forest. The forest is part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.
Bartholomew's Cobble is a 329-acre (1.33 km2) National Natural Landmark, open space preserve, agricultural preserve, and bio-reserve located in southwest Massachusetts in the village of Ashley Falls abutting Canaan, Connecticut. The preserve contains over 800 plant species, including North America's greatest diversity of ferns and the greatest overall biodiversity in Berkshire County, Massachusetts; it also contains Massachusetts' highest populations of ground nesting bobolinks. It was declared a National Natural Landmark in October 1971
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Spencer State Forest is a Massachusetts state forest and recreation reserve located in the town of Spencer, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The 92 mile (148 km) Midstate Trail passes through the state forest. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also conducts logging in some parts of the property.
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The Natchaug Trail is a Blue-Blazed hiking trail "system" which meanders through 19.5 miles (31.4 km) of forests in northeast Connecticut—primarily in Windham County. It is maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Its southern trailhead begins in the James L. Goodwin State Forest in the towns of Chaplin, Connecticut and Hampton, Connecticut and the northern terminus is at its intersection with the Nipmuck Trail in Natchaug State Forest in Eastford, Connecticut.
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