Turtle Creek Preserve

Why You Should Visit    
This preserve has about a mile of trail through mountain laurel thickets and beech groves, and along a cove on the Connecticut River. Straddling the Essex/Old Saybrook town line, the preserve occupies the mouth of Turtle Creek, a tidal estuary whose channel supports wild rice and eel grass.

Location
Essex

Hours
Dawn to dusk

Size
93 acres

Conditions
There is a well-maintained loop trail through hemlock, hickory, oak, and cedar stands, with a great view of South Cove and the Essex waterfront.

How to Prepare for Your Visit
Please see our “Preserve Visitation Guidelines” page.

Directions
From Interstate 95:

• Take Route 9 north to exit 2. 
• Go north on Route 154 and go 0.8 mile, then right onto Watrous Point Road. 
• The entrance and parking area are 0.2 mile on the left.

What to See: Plants
There are mountain laurel thickets and beech groves, as well as wild rice and eel grass at the mouth of Turtle Creek.

What to See: Animals
Basking turtles can be seen in Deitsch’s Pond in the southeast corner of the preserve.  From the beach on South Cove, look for ducks and wading birds.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site  
The Turtle Creek Preserve was established with a gift of 89 acres made in partial interests from 1971 to 1978 by the late Dorothy S. Bowles, the wife of the former Connecticut Governor Chester Bowles Sr. Turtle Creek Preserve includes brackish tidal marshes and are part of the globally recognized wetlands complex of Tidelands of the Connecticut River.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
A local volunteer preserve monitor maintains the trails.