Clark Preserve
Preserve Details
Amenities
Information kiosk a short distance from parking area. Bog-bridge through wetland in the northeastern part of the preserve.
Features and size
The 76-acre Clark Preserve contains a network of intersecting trails through highland, woodland, wetlands and a 5-acre meadow perfect for birding. Hikers will experience the greatest elevation change on the yellow trail. Keep your feet dry on the bog-bridge through a wetland meadow and blueberry swamp and meander in and out of a riparian corridor on the red-blue trail.
Watch birds from our memorial viewing bench in Clark meadow, dedicated to former board member, Matt Coulter.
Stone fences, rock outcroppings and specimen trees show off the variations of terrain that make Pound Ridge so special. The upper trail leads to an overlook and then a field of cedars and dogwood. Black birch, White oaks, beech and Tulip trees dot the woodlands.
History of the Preserve
Clark Preserve was generously donated to PRLC in several stages by Ben and Charlotte Clark in 1987, 1994 and 1997. The preserve is part of the biotic corridor extending along the eastern portion of Westchester County that includes Ward Pound Ridge Reservation to the north.
The property is part of an old farm, with a root cellar hidden in plain sight and fields successively let fallow and allowed to grow up in trees, leading to the establishment of different forest types and ages delineated by stone walls.
Flora & Fauna
Clark Preserve harbors a rich array of wildlife in its meadows, deciduous forest and wooded wetlands. Birders might see American woodcock amongst the more common bluebirds and swallows at the meadow and can hear Wood thrush, Scarlet tanager, and Red-eyed vireo calling from the treetops. The spring woods are filled with warblers and choruses of frogs. In summer the woods are shady and quieter with the many-layered and overlapping leaves of a healthy and mature forest. Magnificent specimens of White ash, Black, Red, and White oak and Sugar maple now grow where they were spared from the ax to mark property lines or provide shade to livestock. Animals rarely seen but for their footprints include bobcat, Box turtle, coyote, deer, fox, raccoon, weasels, and Wild turkey.