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Vernon
The NCLT properties in Vernon are listed in the Vernon Rails to Trails Guide in detail. Trails are located at Talcott Ravine, Valley Falls and Ecker’s Pond.
Ecker’s Pond
Acres: 11
Acquired: 2000
This 11 acre property lies behind the Vernon Middle School and Eckers Pond. It is adjacent to the Town of Vernon disk golf course.
Indian Trail Preserve
Acres: 20
Acquired: 1991, 1993, and 1997
Indian Trail was the first property acquired by the then- Vernon Land Trust, gifted to the Trust in 1991 by George Risley. The 7-acre preserve is located at the intersection of Bolton Road and Indian Trail in southeast Vernon. It is a natural addition to the nearby open spaces of Valley Falls Park and the Bissell-Belding property, providing an excellent wildlife corridor. Much of the property is wetland with streams, stone walls and older trees.
It is bordered on the east by the 12-acre Brandy Hill property donated to the Trust in 1997 by Roy Conyers and accessible from a small walk-thru off Brandy Hill Road.
Park on Indian Trail, Vernon just after making the left from Bolton Road. There are two entrances.
Hatch Hill : Just up Hatch Hill Road is the 1-acre Hatch hill property donated by the Town of Vernon in 1993.
Talcott Ravine
Acres: 26
Acquired: 12/2010
The Ravine is a gem with natural, geographic, historic and archaelogical significance. A site of a cotton mill built in 1811 by Peter Dobson, the Ravine has a long mill history ending with the demise of the Ackersly Mill in 1939.
A beautiful trail running alongside the Tankerhoosen River follows in part, the old road into the mill areas. Dobson espoused a glacial theory right here in the Ravine when he observed boulders and rocks that appeared to have been abraded by a massive force, suggesting that it was the work of glaciers.
On the southern side of the River and along the Rails to Trails portion, is evidence of the the geological upheaval of the area. The “Eastern Highlands” consist of metamorphic rocks similar to granite. This section has what is known as Glastonbury Gneiss and a fault line can be seen.
Visit the Tankerhoosen Site for more information on this area as the area is maintained through a collaboration of various entities.
Talcott Ravine consists of 26 acres donated by the Talcott Family in December 2010.
Valley Falls Area
Acres: 44
Acquired: 1999 and 2003
The 14-acre Echo Ridge property, donated anonymously in 1999, abuts the 30-acre Webster Preserve, acquired in 2003, providing blazed trails along the ridgeline above Valley Falls Park, with access crossing the Rails-to-Trails from Valley Falls Road, with beautiful overlooks from high above Railroad Brook.
