An Abundance of Nature in Ridgefield, Connecticut

 I’ve continued my explorations in Ridgefield, Connecticut, revisiting some sights and learning more about the landscape.

In Connecticut, the short, mostly suburban Ridgefield Rail-Trail takes on a sylvan vibe along the section where it intersects two trailheads that veer into dense nature preserves.

I hiked in a still woodland dense with mountain laurel, red maple and hickory, occasionally passing a running brook and boulders left from the last Ice Age. Impressionist painter J Alden Weir once owned and farmed this Connecticut property (Weir Preserve-Weir Farm Art Center) that’s traced by stone walls and has long inspired artists.

One of many old barns and other original structures sitting among the boulders and fields at the Weir Farm National Historic Site. This stunning landscape, where Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir lived, has an active artist-in-residence program