Hikes at Devil's Den Preserve

The New Canaan Nature Center sponsors hikes throughout the year at Devil's Den Preserve located in Weston, CT. All hikes are free of charge. Please call (203) 966-9577 to register at least two days before the hike.

Devil's Den is the largest permanently protected tract of conservation land in Fairfield County and The Nature Conservancy's most frequently visited preserve in Connecticut, hosting more than 50,000 people per year. Its patchwork of woodlands, wetlands, rock ledges and series of north-south ridges and valleys woven with streams and swamps make the Devil’s Den ideal for passive outdoor activity such as hiking and bird watching.

The Den itself is 1,756 acres and has twenty miles of walking trails. The Den's trails are part of the extended 70-mile Saugatuck Valley Trails System, all within contiguous forest and watershed lands of nearly 15,000 acres. 

The Den, known formally as the Lucius Pond Ordway/Devil's Den Preserve, was created by the late Katharine Ordway through a series of donations from 1966 through 1968, beginning with a 1,300-acre purchase from the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company. 

> Directions to Devil's Den Preserve
> Volunteer Interpretive Program
> Devil's Den Preserve website

Human Activity in Devil's Den
Saturday, March 8
1 p.m.

Enjoy the natural beauty of Devil's Den while visiting sites of human activity dating back thousands of years to semi-nomadic Native Americans.

Features of this 3.3 mile hike include a vista from Deer Knoll, examination of the mechanical remains of a portable sawmill, a Native American shelter site, Godfrey Pond and the ruins of a water powered sawmill, and a charcoal making site. Depending on the amount of interest at each site, this moderate hike should be completed in 2 to 21/2 hours. Meet hike guide Al Noe at 1pm at the map shelter at the Pent Road entrance to Devil's Den.

Cost: FREE
Please call (203) 966-9577 to register by March 7