Preserves in the Bethany Farms Complex
Bethany Farms Trails
Located in the southwestern corner of Bethany, the Bethany Farms Trail System was created by the Bethany Land Trust to provide a peaceful retreat within one of Bethany’s largest housing developments. When the 250-acre Bethany Farms Development was approved in the mid-1990s, the Town of Bethany and the Land Trust worked diligently to provide hiking trails on the property. The developers generously donated 10 open space parcels encompassing 70 acres and trail easements to the Land Trust. Learn more about this preserve…
Whispering Pines
The Land Trust received a donation of 47.4 acres of woodlands, streams and historic features that has become Whispering Pines from the late Irene Stahl that had been lovingly tended to by Irene and her late husband, Carlton. Carlton Stahl began acquiring the land in 1944 from Henry and Julia Russell and added parcels over the years. He gave Henry permission to continue grazing his dairy cows in the meadow and for Julia to pick apples from the orchard for her famous apple pies. Learn more about this preserve…
Hidden Brook
The Hidden Brook Preserve is 36.1 acres of open space acquired by the Land Trust from the Giovanelly Family Trust and other family members located in the southwestern portion of Bethany. The parcel includes approximately 8 acres of a mix of woodland and rocky outcrops encircling approximately 28 acres of rich marshy wetland which protects songbirds, wild flowers, and other wildlife. The upper portion of Bladen’s River emerges from the wetlands. It contains habitat important to numerous avian and amphibian species. Learn more about this preserve…
Carrington Preserve
The 73.75-acre Carrington Preserve is owned by the Town of Bethany but managed by the Bethany Land Trust. Purchased by the town in 2015, it was part of the larger Cherry Tree Farm, a historic property dating back to the early 1800s, which combines pasture and woods. In 2016, the Carrington family decided together to permanently protect the remaining portion of Cherry Tree Farm adjacent and west of the Preserve. This was Bethany’s first project protecting farmland as part of the State of Connecticut’s Farmland Trust. Learn more about this preserve…
