Kitchawan Preserve

It was nice again today so I took a walk in Kitchawan Preserve. Although it is just a couple of miles from my former place of employment I had never visited it before. There is a small parking area off the east side of Route 134 a bit northwest of the intersection with Pinesbridge road. The entrance is in the middle of an s-curve so some caution is indicated when getting back on Route 134.

If I had planned ahead a bit better I would have printed out and brought along a copy of the trail map (pdf file) available here . There is no map at the parking area. The trails are blazed and fairly easy to follow but a map would have been nice for planning a route. I ended up exploring a few of the trails in the eastern section of the preserve. There is another group of trails in the western part of the preserve that I didn't get to.

I first took a trail which goes over a ridge and intersects with the North County Trailway near where the power lines cross. I diverted onto the North County Trail and walked up to the bridge over the reservoir and back. Then I returned over the ridge and returned to the parking area by some different trails (Red Oak and Little Brook).

There is something nice about exploring a trail for the first time but I don't think these trails will become favorites. Most of the time you are walking through deep woods which I find kind of boring. And the trail is a little rougher than I prefer.

I took the picture from the North County Trailway on the way to the bridge. The sun coming through the trees was nice and not really done justice by the picture. The power line cut is just behind the trees in the picture increasing the amount of sun.