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Pleasant Valley Preserve

Pleasant Valley Preserve falls © Rick Newton
Pleasant Valley Preserve falls
© Rick Newton

Why You Should Visit
This preserve, managed jointly by the Lyme Land Conservation Trust and The Nature Conservancy, provides trails through open fields and woodlands, and frontage on the Eightmile River. The preserve takes the name of the area made famous by Lyme impressionist painters Eugene Higgins, Robert Vonnoh and Oscar Fehrer-the father of the Catherine and Elizabeth Fehrer, who donated the land to the Conservancy.

Location
Lyme

Hours
Dawn to dusk

Size
235 acres

Conditions
Well-maintained trails loop through woods and old fields, and along the Eightmile River.

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

Directions
From Interstate 95 north or south:

  • Take exit 70 and follow Route 156 north, driving 6.6 miles and entering Lyme.
  • Just before the grade school, town hall and library, turn left onto MacIntosh Road.
  • At the first sharp bend in road (just past bridge), park at the dirt road on right.
  • The trail begins at the gate. Follow woods road, bear right to stream and preserve sign (about a quarter mile).

What to See: Plants
The trail passes through old fields now full of 20- to 30-foot cedars and dry oak woods. The preserve includes a ridgetop covered with large conifers and old white oaks, as well as rolling wooded hills, covered mostly with oak, hickory, beech and hemlock. The northwestern section of the property consists of a maple ash seepage forest. Among the important species found on the preserve is Virginia snakeroot, a plant generally found along rich slopes that is a threatened species in Connecticut.

What to See: Animals
In addition to watching for woodland birds, be sure to visit the banks of the Eightmile River, keeping an eye out for fish and invertebrates.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
The protection of this land provides numerous environmental benefits, including protection of water quality of the Eightmile River, which in turn affects the habitat of several rare species. The Eightmile River, which runs through the property, feeds into the Connecticut River by way of Hamburg Cove. Protecting the this property from development protects a part of the Connecticut River's watershed, as well as a considerable segment of one of its tributaries. Moreover, some species of fish swim up the Eightmile River to spawn.

The late Catherine and Elizabeth Fehrer, who died last February, first created the preserve in December 1991 with a donation of a 15 percent interest in the property to the chapter.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Lyme Land Conservation Trust maintains this property in partnership with the Conservancy. Both the land trust and the Conservancy have made protecting the watershed of the Eightmile River one of their top priorities.