The groves of young trees were once occupied by lovely evergreens that succumbed to disease. The dying trees were harvested in the 1970's and used to build log cabins. The tamarack tree, also called the American larch, is one of the only two native conifers that drop all their needles every fall. The trees along this trail are actually European larch, a close relative. Notice their soft, green new growth in the spring.
Tamaracks are one of the last trees to drop their tawny brown needles in the fall.
The bushy, young trees at the start of this trail give no hint of the majestic hemlock spires further along. Nearly all of southern Connecticut was once cleared for farming, including some of these steep, rocky slopes. But farming was discontinued early here, and trees quickly returned. Protected in this ravine, trees grow taller and older than on surrounding land. Of all the trails in our system, this one feels the most like Vermont.