Sawmill Brook Preserve is one of two southern trail heads of the Nipmuck Trail (the other is located in Mansfield Hollow State Park, off of North Windham Road in Mansfield). The Nipmuck Trail is maintained by the CT Forest and Park Association.
Trails within the Sawmill Brook Preserve (owned by the Town of Mansfield) and Wolf Rock Preserve (owned by Joshua's Trust) properties take you by historic stone walls and hardwood forests to a marsh with a beaver pond and a wildlife viewing platform. Continue on to a hemlock grove, past a brook and the abandoned Old Blacksmith Shop Road, which once connected Mansfield Center to the Crane Hill area. Ascend the rock ledge where you will view exposed bedrock (the metamorphic rock, Willimantic Gneiss) and arrive at Wolf Rock, one of Mansfield’s most spectacular landmarks.
Wolf Rock consists of a great glacial boulder, almost round, 6-feet in diameter. Perched atop a sheer forty-foot cliff, this huge boulder testifies to the force of the glacier that moved southward through this area, slicing off chunks of rock and steepening slopes. Enjoy the scenic farmland views and observe Eastern Connecticut State University and Willimantic in the distance.
For more information, see Mansfield’s Parks Rules and Regulations.
Joshua's Trust preserves natural habitats and heritage sites in northeastern Connecticut. To learn more contact:
Park at the Sawmill Brook Preserve Trailhead Parking Lot (going south on Route 195 in Mansfield take a right onto Puddin Lane and the 8-car parking lot is approximately 0.6 miles on the right).
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