Burlington - Sessions Woods WMA

Date Hiked:  Friday, April 27, 2012
Number in Group:  9
Estimated distance round-trip: 2.6 mile loop, plus spurs to tower and falls
Weather:  55°F, sunny and breezy
Websites: Session Woods Wildlife Management Area, Friends of Sessions Woods

The kids spent a few minutes in the education center before we headed out on the Beaver Pond Trail.  The exhibit space is very nice and I highly recommend a visit.  For more information, check out what Steve Wood has written on his Connecticut Museum Quest website.

The loop trail is wide and well maintained.  (The DEEP closed the trails in January for clean-up after the October storm).  Our first stop was the beaver pond.  There is a boardwalk out to a viewing platform, and while we did not see any beaver, we did see an Eastern Painted Turtle, Northern Water Snake, Red-spotted Newt, and a pair of Canada Geese.  (See the tab at the top of the page for links to wildlife identification guides.)

Beaver lodge.

Eastern Painted Turtle.

Northern Water Snake.

Red-spotted Newt.

We continued on the loop trail until we came to the spur for the fire tower.  The tower, which was airlifted into place a number of years ago by an Air National Guard Helicopter (that would have been a sight to see), provides views to the north, east, and south.  Using the profile map provided on the tower, it was easy to identify Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington.

Looking north.

East with Rattlesnake Mountain visible.

The final stop on our hike was the waterfall along the Negro Hill Brook.  With a pretty mild winter and dry spring, there was not a lot of water, but enough to make it interesting.  The kids enjoyed climbing across the stream and up to the top of the falls on the jumble of boulders.

This was a great hike and I think it would be nice to hike again in the fall.  The autumn colors around the beaver pond and from the fire tower would probably be spectacular.