There used to be a game we played as kids called — well, it didn’t really have a name. You took a broom from the closet, brought it outside and held it up to the sky and twirled in a circle. After a few moments the fun really began as your now-dizzy self tried to navigate the backyard.
Watch More
That childhood game may come to mind as you find yourself spinning and twirling under the boughs of giant white pines at Cornwall’s Gold’s Pines and Ballyhack Preserve — Connecticut’s much smaller version of the redwood or giant sequoia forests of the West.
Tornadoes devastated a large part of an equally impressive 200-year-old stand of the nearby Nature Conservancy’s Cathedral Pines in 1989. Gold’s Pines and Ballyhack have taken over as one of the oldest publicly accessible pine groves in the state.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Gold’s and Ballyhack have the first- and second-tallest measured trees in the state, at 155 and 149 feet, respectively, according to the Connecticut College’s Notable Tree Project. Six of the top 10 tallest trees in Connecticut are located within the pair of white pine stands.
Gold’s Pines, a Connecticut Natural Area Preserve designated by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is located next to the Cornwall Conservation Trust’s Day Preserve, a 181-acre open space that includes an out-and-back trail. An interpretive board at the trailhead notes that the pines in the grove are estimated to be about 200 years old — middle age for the species. Let that sink in.
The former pasture was abandoned when farmers moved west for the more fertile, and less rocky, agricultural lands. According to the Cornwall Historical Society, Theodore S. Gold purchased a 12-acre plot of white pine and hemlock in 1870, eventually expanding it to 42 acres. The trail to the Day Preserve forks to the left while an unmarked woods road takes visitors through the heart of Gold’s Pines.
The woods road through Gold’s Pines passes a few white pine “saplings” that are probably 50–100 years old. Look for the giants starting at a clearing farther up the road. The tallest trees are next to the road, so it’s easy to marvel at the trunks and look skyward to the boughs, seemingly as high as the clouds. The 155-footer is on the right before the trail curves to the right.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The trail through the Day Preserve is marked with yellow blazes and runs up the western side of a rock formation known as “The Cobble.” There are moss-covered boulder fields as well as large hemlocks shading the trail. The trail leads to a large hayfield bounded by stone walls, patches of white pines and white birch trees.
Be sure to head to the top of the field for some wonderful views of the area and north to the mountains of Massachusetts. A loop trail along an old farm road brings visitors back to the forest and past a beautiful farm, where horses frolic uninhibited in a large field.
Although close as the crow flies, Ballyhack Preserve is several miles away from Gold’s Pines along Route 125 at Dibble Hill Road. At 55 acres, this preserve is also small, but the tree specimens are stunning as you hike into the “Valley of the Giants,” as noted by the trailhead kiosk. It’s a “bottomland stand of massive, old eastern white pines and eastern hemlocks that tower above the canopy.” DEEP has designated this museum of huge trees a “state critical habitat.”
Be on the lookout for Connecticut’s second-tallest tree (149 feet) as you hike through the preserve along a loop trail marked by yellow blazes. The mile-long loop trail passes through dense stands of mountain laurel and a rocky granite ledge with views down a ravine and a series of waterfalls along the energetic Baldwin Brook. One of the biggest pines hangs over the edge of the ravine.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The white pines in Ballyhack grow amazingly straight. They probably would be worth the “king’s mark,” a designation given the evergreens in Colonial times that were sought out for sailing masts. Trees would be given the “King’s Broad Arrow” mark preventing colonists from harvesting the timber set aside for British sailing ships.
Gold’s Pines and Ballyhack Preserve, West Cornwall
The bottom line: This pair of Cornwall open spaces will take visitors under some of the tallest trees in the state. The Cornwall Conservation Trust’s 181-acre Day Preserve will bring hikers through a deep hemlock forest up to the top of a cobble with views across a field into the mountains and hills of Massachusetts.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Difficulty: Easy to moderate due to changes in topography.
Length: The Gold’s Pines trail is about a mile out and back. Day Preserve has a two-mile loop trail. Ballyhack has a mile loop trail.
Directions: Follow Route 128 several miles west of its intersection with routes 4 and 43 for Gold’s Pines and Day Preserve. A small parking lot is located on the left between the Little Guild of St. Francis animal shelter and the West Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department. Go to cornwallconservationtrust.org for a map of the preserves. Follow Route 128 south to Route 125 or Grange Hall Road and look for Ballyhack on the right. Park at the small lot on the opposite side of the street.
Pet friendly?:Leashed dogs are allowed and must be cleaned up after with the waste removed if placed in a plastic bag.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Things to do nearby
Bad Dog Brewing Co.: The brewery is housed in a restored former firehouse (complete with a restored antique fire engine) where flagship and seasonal beers are brewed in small batches, including Blonde Ale, brewed with single malt and single hop, Sunny Deez, the flagship New England IPA, Black Lab ale and Boats & Oats, a classic oatmeal stout. 117 Water St., Torrington, 860-335-5321
Falls Village Café: Breakfast is served all day on weekends and includes items like a burrito, croissant and breakfast plate with hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausage, grilled tomato, and mushroom with toast. Other menu items include Great Falls burger, cheddar BLT and spinach feta wrap. There are also special events including burger night Fridays and Tex-Mex Saturday nights. 107 Main St., Falls Village, 860-453-4183
Covered Bridge Electric Bike: This bike shop rents electric bikes for two hours, a half-day, or a full day, and offers several sizes and models. Self-guided tours designed to the biker’s abilities include hills, dirt or paved roads, farms or quiet routes to villages. For larger groups, the shop offers a variety of trips, all leaving from the historic West Cornwall Covered Bridge. 421 Sharon-Goshen Tpke., Cornwall, 860-248-3010