Thompson-Osborn Preserve

Carboniferific!
Thompson-Osborn Preserve, Avon Land Trust, Avon
July 2024

“Hey Steve, do you get annoyed when you think you’ve hiked every land trust trail or all the trails in a town and then they go and add another one?”

No!

Especially when it’s in Avon and the new trail is only 15 minutes from my house. That means that I can scoot out on a 95 degree humid summer Sunday afternoon and get a quick hike in and be back home in time for the kickoff of the UEFA Championship between England and Spain.

So that’s exactly what I did at Avon Land Trust’s spanking new Thompson-Osborn Preserve, a wonderfully primeval patch of swampy land amongst the suburban town.

Our newest trail has been designed by our trail master, Scott Lewis and is called the Thompson-Osborn Preserve. It is located at 200 Scoville Road and is woodland and wetlands. This property historically was near the old milling community of Sleepy Hollow, which was situated on Avon Old Farms School property today.

There’s no parking at the trailhead along Scoville Road, but there’s plenty available a few hundred yards west. This requires a short walk down the sidewalk, but you won’t complain…

Because you’re about to step back in time. Back to the Carboniferous period.

Seriously, this lollipop loop trail is amazing in its Carboniferousness.

At just under a mile, and pancake flat, most anyone can hike this trail. I have no idea who Thompson or Osborn were, and I have no idea how the ALT found this joint, but I’m glad for all of that. It’s a wildly fascinating trail.

Maybe it was the July heat and humidity, but it seems like every plant and every tree here existed 400 million years ago. There are forests of ferns here. A few different conifers. Club mosses and princess pines. There are swamps and streams.

Clubmosses are native, perennial, evergreen plants with tiny leaves. There are more than 350 species of them worldwide, with names like princess pine, ground cedar, and tree clubmoss. Their miniscule leaves are very similar in appearance to small evergreen needles, giving the impression of a tiny pine tree. Their common name stems from their superficial similarity to mosses, and the fact that they often have club-like structures that produce spores.

About 400 million years ago, these now diminutive plants of the forest grew to more than 100 feet tall. Along with ferns, they dominated the swamps of the Carboniferous period. They were among the first land plants to develop specialized tissues that could transport water and food.

I saw lots of dragonflies. I half expected them to be the size of a large drone like they were hundreds of millions of years ago.

Alas, they were not. Modern houses can be seen along the way – a way which, the ALT almost forces you to go clockwise. I endorse this as there seem to be many more of the land trust’s signature yellow blazes in that direction.

This is not a challenging hike at all, but you’ll pass massive pines and endless ferns. (Okay, the mountain laurel grove isn’t very ancient, but it’s still nice.)

And so yes… I love new trails near me. Keep ’em coming neighboring towns!

Avon Land Trust
CTMQ’s Avon Land Trust Hikes