Eastwoods Preserve
Preserve Details
Amenities
Information kiosk at parking area. Stepping stone bridges over waterways, lovely rock outcroppings.
Features and size
The 49-acre Eastwoods Preserve is located in southeastern Pound Ridge between Trinity Lake and the Siscowit Reservoir. The preserve helps to maintain watershed health and is surrounded by large tracts of woodland. Its well-marked loop trail is narrow and rocky but easily hikeable.
Flora & Fauna
This largely evergreen forest of Eastern hemlock and mountain laurel also contains large specimen oaks, maple, birch, and hickory trees. The undulating uplands of the preserve are bisected by an intermittent stream and a shrub-covered floodplain along the eastern side of the loop trail. Highbush blueberry, spicebush, and American beech are common in the understory. Eastwoods shows less evidence of deer impact than much of our local area, perhaps due to lack of the “edge” habitat that deer prefer, and to the presence of bobcat, coyote, and the occasional Black bear in the preserve. This pristine forest has resisted the establishment of invasive species, making it a good example of local, native woodlands. Look for rare woodland flower species such as Red columbine and Rattlesnake plantain, as well as ancient non-flowering lycopods, mosses and ferns.
History of the Preserve
The Eastwoods Preserve was acquired by the Town of Pound Ridge in 2009 with Open Space Acquisition Funding. The preserve’s trail is maintained by the Pound Ridge Conservation Board in partnership with the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy, which has a back-up easement to care for the preserve into the future.