The Walkin’ o’ the Green

#Middlebury #Greenway

Snow covers the Middlebury Greenway in this recent photo taken looking west from Chase Road. Users can park in the parking lot on the right side of the fence. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

March can mean the wearin’ o’ the green … or the walkin’ o’ the green – the Greenway that traverses the town for 4.5 miles from Woodside Avenue to the ball field across from Quassy Amusement Park. While it is always “use at your own risk,” in the winter, when it is covered with snow and ice, the Greenway can be risky indeed. But there are many days when it is clear, especially as March marches on.

I share with you this month a walking tour of the Greenway, including some of the highlights you can see from it. The many parcels that are owned by the Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) or under conservation easement are noted.

We’ll start at the eastern end, a bit beyond the beginning of the trail, at Steinmann Avenue where the path crosses Long Swamp Brook. It offers easy parking, picnic tables and tall pines. In very early spring you will see skunk cabbage growing in the small wetland just before you get to Sullivan’s Jewelers.

Cross Regan Road (parking also available there) and the bridge over Hop Brook, which meanders along until it reaches the Naugatuck River, and go through a deep cut in the rocks. At the corner of Chase Road, to your left, is one end of the Goss parcel owned by the MLT. There is parking there, too.

Charming Goat Brook follows along on your left. Here you can see the trail’s origins as a trolley track as it considerably higher than the land on either side, with the remains of an old dam in the brook visible on your left.

Where the Greenway and Route 64 curve to the left, there is another small MLT-owned tract just past the tiny pond. A bit farther on, on your right and tucked between Charcoal Road and Route 64, is Fenn Pond, a MLT-owned property where you can spot birds and turtles year round. On the hill beyond the pond is Brookdale Farm, a conservation-easement property open to the public once a year.

When you come to North Street, you’re at about the halfway point, and the Greenway begins a long uphill climb past The Hamlet shopping area and Pies & Pints. As you approach Pies & Pints, you can see Bronson Meadow off to your left. It’s another piece owned and preserved by the MLT.

The Greenway then goes through an underpass where children can enjoy making echoing sounds. Half a mile farther, cross Route 64 at the light. Meadowview Park is on your left with its playing fields, swings and more. At this time of year, after you pass Long Meadow Road on the left you can see through the trees Lake Elise and its surrounding fields. That’s another MLT property.

When the Greenway and road bend left, much of the land visible to the right on both sides of Tranquility Road is under conservation easement. That means that, while privately owned, the appearance and use of the land will remain unchanged. Across from the Middlebury Recreation Area is another parcel under conservation easement. Your adventure ends just past the ball field. By this time you will have seen fields and woods, wetlands, brooks, ponds and lakes. A town treasure indeed.

The MLT, now celebrating its 50th year, is proud to be a part of preserving our beautiful heritage. For more information about the land trust, visit www.middleburylandtrust.org. Contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com.