The Leon Levy Preserve was established approximately 10 years ago when the 400 acre Bell property was purchased by the Westchester Land Trust. The hiking trails here are wide, well maintained, well marked and range from an easy to a light moderate level of difficulty.

See: Leon Levy Preserve

We have chosen this particular hike to encourage wide participation. The hike should appeal to hikers of all levels of experience. We welcome spouses and significant others: they will enjoy this hike.

We will start at 9.30am, hike for perhaps 3.5 miles and be done by approximately 12 noon.

Following the hike, an optional lunch will be at Chef Luis in the heart of downtown New Canaan.

See: Chef Luis

Directions:

The best directions can be had by googling 45 Smith Ridge Road in South Salem, NY. This is a private home on Route 123 very close to the Preserve. In fact, a few yards from their mailbox is a brown sign saying the the Leon Levy Preserve is just ahead on the left. There is ample parking.

For those traveling from Darien, you will basically being going up Mansfield Ave (Route 124) into New Canaan and there connect to Route 123 N which is Smith Ridge Road in New Canaan. Proceed on Route 123 N well into New York State till you see the mailbox for 45 Smith Ridge Road in South Salem and spot the Leon Levy sign mentioned above.

Rain date: Friday, Sept 30, 2016

Contact for this hike: Sunil Saksena, 203­561­8601; ssaksena44@gmail.com

Mianus River Gorge

On Thursday, April 21, we will return to the Mianus River Gorge. The Gorge is a 750-acre preserve of old-growth forest that was established sixty years ago as the first land project of The Nature Conservancy.

The trails roughly parallel the river at a higher elevation. Among the interesting features is an abandoned quarry where mica, quartz, and feldspar were mined in the 19th century. For more details see www.mianus.org/visit-the-gorge/planning-your-visit/.

The Mianus River Gorge is located nearby in Bedford, NY, not far from the Stamford border. To reach it:
• Take Exit 34 from the Merritt Parkway.
• Drive North on Route 104 (Long Ridge Road) towards Bedford for 7.5 miles.
• Turn left onto Miller’s Mill Road. If you hit Route 172 and the Mobil gas station, you’ve gone too far.
• Left on Mianus River Road after crossing the bridge.
• Drive about ½ mile on dirt road. Entrance to the parking lot is on the left–just across the street from 167 Mianus River Road.

Be cautious! It is easy to miss Miller’s Mill Road. Check your odometer when you exit the Merritt so you will know when you have traveled 7.5 miles. A helpful landmark on the right is Twin Lakes Drive, which comes just before Miller’s Mill Road.

The hike is about 4 miles, and will take us 2½ – 3 hours. Those who wish to hike at a slower pace will have a 3-mile option. As always, wives are welcome.

We will meet at the Gorge parking lot at 9:50 a.m. and begin the hike at 10:00 a.m. Afterwards there will be an optional lunch.

For more information contact Scott Hutchason at 203-322-5025 or shutchason@sbcglobal.net.

The first hike of the season is scheduled for Thursday, March 31, 2016. We will be hiking the Trout Brook Valley Preservation Area in Weston, Ct. This is an 1100 acre preserve that has several trails classified as hard, medium and easy. We will be exploring a combination of medium and easy trails totaling about 4 miles.

We will be using the Bradley Road entrance to the park in Weston. However, since parking at the trailhead is limited, we will meet instead at the commuter parking lot just off Exit 41 on the North bound Merritt Parkway. This lot is along the curving Exit 41 ramp and can be entered by
making a right turn from the ramp itself.

We will meet there at 9:45 am, pool and depart for the trail at 9:50 am. It should take us 15 minutes to reach the trail head.

After the hike we expect to be back at this lot by 12:30 pm and we will then proceed for lunch(optional) at a nearby restaurant.

As usual, spouses and friends are welcome to join the hike.

Meet at: Commuter parking lot off exit 41(Merritt Parkway)

Date: Thursday, March 31, 2016

Time: 9:45 am

Contact: Sunil Saksena on cellphone 203-561-8601 or email at ssaksena50@aol.com

This hike originally scheduled for Thursday December 3 has been postponed by a day to Friday December 4, 2015 to allow the trails to dry out from the rain earlier in the week.

The 400 acre Mianus River Park straddles the towns of Stamford and Greenwich and is owned jointly by them. We hiked here last year but this time we will be attempting a different, more interesting trail. We will hike approximately 4.5 miles and, starting at 10am, be done by about 12.30 pm.

As usual, participation from spouses, significant others and friends is welcome.
The hike will be followed by lunch at a Stamford restaurant (optional).

Date : Friday, December 4, 2015

Time : 10 am

Meeting Point: Parking lot at the Stamford entrance of the Mianus River Park on Merriebrook Lane, off Westover Road
Parking. : lower level, just below the large red cabin on the right side of Merriebrook
Website for directions and trail map: www.friendsofmianusriverpark.org.

You can also search Merriebrook Lane in Stamford on Google Maps for directions or follow these directions:

1. Heading towards NYC on the Merritt take exit 33 on to Den Road.
2. Then take the first left onto Bangall Road and a
3. Left again on to Riverbank Rd. This turns slightly right and becomes Westover Road.
4. After 1.2 miles, make a right on to Merriebrook Lane (careful, it’s easy to miss this turn).
5. The park entrance is at the end of Merriebrook.

Contact. : Sunil Saksena.
mailto: ssaksena 50@aol.com.
203-­561­-8601 cell

Our first hike of the season is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2015.  Thursday October 29 at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.Located in Cross River(Pound Ridge) this is a 4000 acre park with 42 miles of trails over varied terrain. We will select a trail approximately 4 to 5 miles in length and the hike should take about 2 ½ to 3 hours. The trails are wide, well maintained and well marked. The hike will be followed by lunch(optional) at Blind Charlie’s Cafe in Downtown PoundRidge. Spouses, significant others, friends and guests are welcome to join the hike.

No entrance fee is charged of seniors during the week in the off-season and there is plenty of parking available. We plan to assemble at 10.00 am at the parking lot near the entrance of the park (where the ticket booth is located). There are restrooms here. At 10.10 am we will proceed as a group by car to the trailhead which is a short distance past the ticket booth on Michigan Road.

This hike is led by Sunil Saksena who can be reached at 203-561-8601(cell) or ssaksena44@gmail.com

Directions:

• Take exit 35 off the Merritt Parkway and proceed north on High Ridge Road( Rt 137 N).
• Continue on Rt 137 North for approx 8.5 miles and bear left at the fork towards Pound Ridge onto Stone Hill Road which is still Rt 137N.
• Continue till theT-junction at the end of Rt137 N and then make a right turn towards Cross River onto Old Post Road (Rt 121N) . After about 2.9 miles make a right turn just past the Baptist Church located at 1789 Old Post Road.. This right turn is clearly marked as the entrance to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
• Proceed on this road (Reservation Road) till you reach the ticket booth.

( the distance from Exit 35 on the Merritt to the ticket booth is just under 14 miles and will take about 30 min depending on traffic).

Official address of the Park is 4 Reservation Road, Cross River, NY 10518