Sunny Valley Preserve

Connecticut

Phone: +1 860-355-3716
Email: lshail@tnc.org
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The Nature Conservancy celebrates 50 years of the Sunny Valley Preserve!

Sunny Valley's Story

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Overview

Description

In 2023, The Nature Conservancy marked 50 years of working at the Sunny Valley Preserve. Donated by the late George D. Pratt Jr. of Bridgewater in a series of transfers from 1973 to 1979, Sunny Valley Farm was originally purchased by Pratt's father in 1934. Over the years, Pratt went on to protect more than a dozen separate pieces of open or wooded lands in the area from developers before donating them to TNC to be protected while supporting sustainable farming and education.

Today, TNC's Sunny Valley Preserve boasts a variety of topography, geology and natural habitats along both sides of the Housatonic River Valley, including large stands of hemlock and mixed second growth hardwood forest that supports diverse wildlife and biological communities. Throughout its 1,850 acres of farmland, forests, wetlands and meadows – spread out across 19 parcels of land – visitors can hike on trails and learn about nature, land management and environmentally compatible farming at several observation sites.

Since assuming ownership, TNC has initiated surveys to develop an inventory of the preserve's wildlife and plants. TNC also created habitat to support New England cottontails, which were formerly listed as a federally threatened species but are in recovery thanks to this type of conservation effort.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Location

New Milford and Bridgewater, CT

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Hours

Dawn to dusk; office hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Size

1,850 acres

Resources

Sunny Valley Preserve Trail Map

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Staying True to Sustainable Farming

Ever since assuming ownership of the Sunny Valley Preserve in 1973, TNC promised to protect the parcel in ways that would also feed the planet's growing population. Here, conservation and agriculture exist together, with 450 acres of working farmland managed alongside 1,450 acres of natural areas.

Over time, after making significant capital improvements, TNC established four primary farms that are leased to farmers. This investment has paid off with increased local interest in the preserve. It has become a focal point of community interest, offering educational opportunities, outdoor recreation opportunities and habitat to support diverse plants and animals.

Sunny Valley has certainly evolved over the decades, but the heart and soul of this work has remained the same: to protect the land and all of its wildlife and vegetation while nourishing local communities through farming methods that work with the land, rather than just making use of it.

Wayne Woodard

TNC's Sunny Valley Preserve Director

Visit

Plants and animals to look for during a visit to the preserve include migratory species such as the worm-eating warbler, cerulean warbler, northern goshawk and scarlet tanager, which are known to secure nesting habitat in Sunny Valley's forests. The preserve's grasslands and a wide range of vegetation also provide habitat for such species as the Eastern meadowlark, bobolink, American kestrel and Cooper's hawk, which are known to be declining in the Northeast.
- Visitors are welcome to enjoy passive recreation, including hiking, birding, nature study, butterfly observation and cross-country skiing.
- Please stay on designated trails.
- Carry out everything that you bring in.
- The following activities are prohibited to maintain the ecological integrity of the preserve: collection of plant or animal specimens, camping, fires, fishing, hunting, bicycling and use of motorized vehicles.
- Dogs are allowed on Sunny Valley Preserve hiking trails, but must be leashed. Please clean up after your pet.
Contact The Nature Conservancy’s Connecticut office 860-355-3716 or lshail@tnc.org with questions or concerns.

With more than 1,850 acres, including over 18 miles of hiking trails so many good options, it can be hard to decide which parts of the Sunny Valley Preserve to visit on your next adventure. If you’re looking for a sky-high overlook, a vernal pool or a water view, this preserve has all of that and more. Here’s a little bit of help with some must-see spots.

Wolf Pit Mountain: This hiking area features a few different trails, with all being moderate-to-strenuous, and an overlook that will have you feeling on top of the world—when the trees aren’t as leafy, expect views of the Housatonic River and western plateaus extending into New York. Travel through an upland hardwood forest and groves of hemlock trees. Find parking at Henry Sanford Road in Bridgewater.
Iron Ore Hill: Pick up a Blue-Blazed trail here that is part of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System and leads all the way to Bridgewater Town Park. Find parking at Iron Ore Hill Road in Bridgewater. While traveling along the Blue-Blazed trail between Iron Ore Hill and the Silica Mine Hill parcel, detour onto the red trail that travels through a variety of typical western Connecticut up-land forest, leading to Lake Lillinonah.
Silica Mine Hill is a strenuous hike with many hills and is named for the deposits (veins) of silica that dot the landscape. History of this area tells us the silica was harvested, loaded on carts, pulled by oxen and/or horses and transported to New Milford where the Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company would grind it and add it to paint products for fillers. You can see evidence of this activity today. At marker 138 is a vernal pool. Find parking at Hemlock Road in Bridgewater.
The Rocky Hill parcel is over 200 acres with a trail that traverses through the center, crossing farmland and upland forest. The yellow trail connects this parcel to the Silica Mine Hill trails. Find parking at Christian Street.