Simpson Preserve

The Town of Bethany purchased 50.88 acres of undeveloped land from the Simpson family in 2025 using funds from the State of Connecticut Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) Grant Program and the Audubon Connecticut In-lieu Fee Program. The Bethany Land Trust provides trail and habitat management services for the parcel.

Located in an area of unfragmented woodland in the northwest portion of Bethany, the Simpson Preserve provides a significant linkage in a growing treasure of protected land at the conjuncture of Bethany, Beacon Falls and Naugatuck. The Preserve is bordered on three sides by open space, including Bethany Veterans Memorial Park and three open space preserves of the Bethany Land Trust. The lands in the Preserve and adjacent properties were once part of the New Haven Colony and the Milford Colony and before that, the Quinnipiac tribe. The Parcel had also been used in the 1900’s as a recreational facility that included a short ski slope with a rope tow.

The Simpson Preserve is a largely unfragmented tract of mature and maturing upland forest interspersed with midslope and riparian communities. Land cover across the parcel is predominantly deciduous forest on a stony substrate, with canopy continuity and minimal edge habitat. The Simpson Preserve contains important headwaters and wetland habitat that contribute directly to the ecological health of the surrounding protected lands. These wetlands feed Hockanum Brook, which flows through the adjacent Mendell’s Folly Preserve and eventually to the Naugatuck River.
The Preserve’s topographically varied terrain provides a range of growing conditions that support high biodiversity. The Preserve also contains vernal pools and other ephemeral wetlands, which provide critical breeding habitat for amphibians. This Preserve serves as a protected bridge of land between the Veteran’s Park and the Bethany Land Trust’s Mendell’s Folly Complex and allows movement of animals and plants between terrestrial and wetland areas.

Trails:

Hiking trails in the Preserve connect with hiking trails in Veterans Park and with those in multiple Land Trust preserves and provide an opportunity to enjoy some of the natural features of the Preserve.

• Brookside Trail (0.83 miles; moderate) leaves from the Veterans Park parking area and climbs along a stream near a glacial esker to trails in the Grobe and Woodward Nature Preserves. This trail is part of the Northwest Loop Trail.
• The Towline Trail (0.37 miles; moderate) leaves the Lebanon Road entrance and brings you past ski towline stanchions down to the Brookside Trail.
• The Connector Trail (0.19 miles; moderate) connects the Brookside Trail with the Towline Trail.