SLIDESHOW: Walking the New ‘GreenLink’ Trail and ‘Greenway’ Loop in New Canaan

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The “GreenLink Trail” to open at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in New Canaan—on Earth Day, as part of the New Canaan Land Trust’s plans—creates a new, walk-able loop that advocates have been dreaming about, as well as carefully planning, for some four years.

It features an attractive, footbridge-laden trail that spans wetlands off of Weed Street, and ultimately helps connect Irwin Park to the New Canaan Nature Center. That trail is the final piece of a larger, pedestrian-friendly loop that runs from downtown New Canaan, up Elm, along Weed Street and into Irwin, then back along Weed and into the woods, across a conservation easement and onto Land Trust property, then into the Nature Center’s woods, up onto Oenoke Ridge and past God’s Acre into downtown New Canaan again.

The captioned slideshow above tracks my hike of the trail and that larger loop on Wednesday, with our dogs Louis, Marvin and Dexter. A few fast facts on it (time and distance can be tailored):

  • 2.2 miles
  • 5,656 steps
  • 50 minutes

The hike can vary from two to three-plus miles, depending on just where you want to start downtown and whether you choose to enjoy additional trails within the Nature Center. (Though the RunKeeper app told me I walked 2.2 miles, my Apple Watch clocked it at just over three miles—perhaps measuring more closely the zig-zagging that comes with leash-walking three 90-pound dogs, one of whom doesn’t really know what a leash is.)

With persistence and patience, early advocates such as Chris Schipper, John Engel and Skip Hobbs sketched out a plan where a three-lot subdivision of 929 Weed St. yielded a key conservation easement on the north side of that property. With that in hand, the new loop was possible, though many details had to be worked out, such as legally crossing the wetlands there, getting new sidewalk installations along Weed Street and even traversing the driveway at 929 Weed St. (now serving numbers 927, 929 and 931).

Land Trust officials are asking residents to wait until after the Grand Opening of the GreenLink on Sunday to try out the new trail. (And in fairness, a few more days of dry weather will make that experience even more comfortable for those walking it.)

In addition to the Land Trust and Nature Center, the town and New Canaan Community Foundation partnered in creating the GreenLink trail. A full schedule of events and activities for Earth Day can be found here.

4 thoughts on “SLIDESHOW: Walking the New ‘GreenLink’ Trail and ‘Greenway’ Loop in New Canaan

  1. Thank you, Mike, for the virtual GreenwayLink tour, and to your very hospitable tour dogs, Lou, Marvin and Dexter. And huge thank you to the New Canaan Land Trust, New Canaan Nature Center, New Canaan Community Foundation, and to the Town for working together to provide what is sure to be a wonderful way for the community to explore some of New Canaan’s most beautiful open space for generations to come.

  2. Mike,
    Absolutely wonderful tour and your three assistant tour guides couldn’t be cuter. I can’t wait to take my two pups on this walk.

    Great job to you and, of course, to the Land Trust, Nature Center, Community Foundation, Chris Schipper, John Engel and Skip Hobbs, Park & Rec, DPW and everyone involved with making this happen. Hats off to you all!

  3. This is a fine photo tour of GreenLinks, a most pleasant way to see and connect two of New Canaan’s highlights, the Nature Center and Irwin Park.

  4. Thank you Mike for excellent coverage of this connected trail that will keep New Canaanites (and their four-footed friends) walking!! – Julia Portale

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