Nut Plains Woods

Nut Plains Woods consists of six separate properties accumulated by the GLCT over a thirty year period. The primary, and earliest, 57-acre piece was the result of an anonymous donation in 1972 and represented a significant increase in the Land Trust’s non-saltmarsh holdings, and an expansion of trails outside of Westwoods. Development of the Orcutt lands to the east, and the donation of the Lawler land to the north more than doubled the size of the original preserve to its present 116 acres.

Nut Plains Woods contains marked trails designed by Richard Elliott, who also designed the Westwood Trails in Guilford.

Nut Plains Woods can be reached from Nut Plains Road. Turn on to White Birch Drive from Nut Plains Road and turn right onto Cindy Lane. You will see marker on your left, between #48 and #60 Cindy Lane. There is a short right-of-way that runs between the houses leading toward a larger trail head.

Nut Plains Woods can also be entered from Broad Hill Circle. From North Madison Road, turn right onto Whitehorn Drive, left onto Willow Road, and right onto Broad Hill Circle. The access is toward the end of the cul-de-sac on the right-hand side between #50 and #56 Broad Hill Circle and connects to the trail system at the White Trail.

Hiking in Nut Plains Woods

The trail system in Nut Plains Woods offers numerous possibilities to the hiker. A white-blazed trail runs around the perimeter of the property. One can walk this loop trail in either direction from the entrance on Cindy Lane and not have to retrace any steps. This trail can be walked at a leisurely pace in about an hour.

As one walks along the white-blazed trail, he or she will encounter more than a half-dozen junctions where the trail connects with trails of other colors that run through the interior of the property.

Each of these interior trails joins the white-blazed trail at two or three places, allowing them to be walked without the need to backtrack to return to the white-blazed trail. One can easily spend two hours meandering through Nut Plains Woods on the various trails.