Explore Middlebury-Naugatuck trails

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Alice Hallaran, left, Kent Sullivan-Wiley, and his dog, Gatsby, prepare to set off from the main trail onto the red branch of the Meshattuck Trail. The trail crosses streams and wet areas on a plank bridge and parallel branches (a corduroy crossing), on its way to the Larkin Bridle Trail. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

Snug up against Middlebury’s border with Naugatuck lies the 134-acre Water Company Parcel owned by the Middlebury Land Trust (MLT). This parcel is fascinating for several reasons, one being the trails in there. Another is the history of the land.

The Connecticut Water Company acquired the land in 1958 and sold it to the town of Middlebury in 2001, at the same time giving the MLT a permanent conservation easement on all but a small, almost circular area in the middle of the acreage, on which stood a house built in 1750.

By June 2019, when the MLT bought the entire tract from the town, the house was badly deteriorated. Following research and deliberation by many parties, the house was dismantled piece by piece, numbered with care and transported west, to be rebuilt in Idaho. In an interesting twist of fate, the new owners are distant relatives of the very first owner. All that remains of the house is the old foundation of huge stones and bricks, now fenced off for safety.

This map, updated by Naugatuck Mayor Pete Hess, shows the many trails hikers can access through the Nichols Road property in Middlebury. Hess and volunteers developed some of the newer trails on that property. (Map courtesy Mayor Hess)

There to be enjoyed are trails that go through and across the parcel, connecting to Hop Brook, the Larkin Bridle trail and more. This writer hiked several of them with friends on a recent sunny fall day.

You can explore them by starting at the entrance on Shadduck Road almost directly across from the intersection with Leonard Road. Park in front of the chain that blocks the old Nichols Road, now a wide trail. Not far in, you will pass the old foundation on the right, and the remains of stone walls on the left. Past the old home area, the road is lined with an undulating rock wall on the left.

Alice Hallaran, an MLT board member, extolled the virtues of this land. “I love these woods. They’re my favorite. There’s something so serene about them,” she said.

Another great fan of the area – and with his friends, a volunteer developer of most of the side trails – is Naugatuck’s mayor, Pete Hess. He first began to develop the trails after consulting with First Selectman Edward B. St. John when the parcel was town owned and has since developed and blazed a network, all under the moniker “Meshattuck Trail.” Mayor Hess said, “Few people know or understand the beautiful and extensive trails network in their town. This gives people something wonderful to do.”

The trails, shown on the accompanying map, branch to the right and left as you hike in on the main trail from Shadduck Road. Going left (northeast) on either the green (only marked with flags as of this writing) or blue trails, you go past lovely large rock outcroppings and across the mowed swath above the sewer lines from Middlebury to Naugatuck before you get to the Army Corp of Engineers trails (shown in yellow), all west of Route 63.

Going right (southwest) the red trail connects to the 10 miles of the Larkin State Bridle Trail (dark orange). This trail is a bit rugged and includes “corduroy” stream crossings of parallel logs. The light orange trail goes to Joe’s Rock. The green main trail is quite open and runs along the old Nichols Road route, connecting Shadduck Road to Nichols Road in Naugatuck.

Hess encourages people to use these trails. “The more people walk a trail, the better,” he said. Hopefully this story will encourage you, dear reader, to do just that.

You can contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com. Visit the MLT on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org.