Town: North Stonington
Maintained Uses: walking, hiking
Difficulty: moderate
Length: 1.25 miles when combined with Babcock Ridge Preserve
Type: one-way, loop network
Surface: grass/meadow and packed earth/dirt
Pets: permitted (dogs on leash)
Year Preserved: 2011
Acres: 62
Lat.: 41°26’53.4″
Long.: 71°51’35.6″
Trail Description
Located in North Stonington and directly connected to the north of Babcock Ridge Preserve is the Erisman Woodland Preserve. The off-street parking access to this trail is easy to miss, as it is smaller than the parking area for Babcock Ridge. Combining these preserves allows for an approximate total of 2.5 miles of trail and a welcomed elevation gain of 335 feet along a wooded ridge. The series of interconnected loops (titled Babcock, Erisman, and Ridge) offer the opportunity for diverse combinations of hikes along stonewalls, intermittent wetlands, and views of beautiful ridge vistas. These trails are very well marked with blue and yellow trail heads with occasional signs/postage, making for a smooth hiking experience. The Erisman Woodland and Babcock Ridge Preserves are pet friendly (dogs on leash) and moderate in difficulty. Hiking on these trails offers great bird watching (most notably hawks and blue jays). At times, the trail was as narrow as 3 feet and as wide as 20 feet. Given the layout, it is not surprising to see other hikers on the trail.
More Info
Mostly upland woods with loop trail crossing stream and heading up to Babcock Ridge shared border and connecting trail. South of Reutemann Road east of #118. Rugged, sloping wooded uplands.
READ MORE ABOUT ERISMAN WOODLANDS
Trail Map
