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Guida Farm Conservation Area
Location Information
Sponsored by:
City of Middletown: Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development
Location Entrance:
Round Hill Road and Coleman Road
Middletown, CT 06457
Location Phone:
Type: An entire preserve
Alternate trailhead or entry point:
Difficulty: Easy (Mostly level terrain with the likeliness to encounter few, if any, obstacles)
Primary Walking Surface:
Earth
Hours open:
Dawn to dusk
Suitable for ages: • Children • Teenagers • Adults • Seniors
Number of walking trails: 3
Total walking route length: 4 miles
Admission fees:
Free
Location Details
The Guida Farm Conservation Area, owned by the City of Middletown, is a 99-acre parcel containing eight open fields, two ponds, old field habitat of gray birch and eastern red cedar, and mixed deciduous woodland. Green frogs, bullfrogs, and painted turtles are often sighted at the first pond. Abundant cardinal flowers and nectaring ruby-throated hummingbirds can be seen in August in the wet meadow north of the second pond. Both ponds provide early spring breeding habitat for spotted salamanders and wood frogs. Bird and mammal lists are on the signboard in the parking area. A unique feature is the exposed Jurassic conglomerate rock formation (a very coarse grained sedimentary rock) running north/south along the eastern border of the property. There are fewer than a dozen places on earth where this type of formation is so prominently displayed.
This area consists of three contiguous parcels, Guida Farm Conservation Area, Cassa Property, and Makuch Preserve. City Open Space funds were used to purchase some of the tracts here. The City-owned Makuch Preserve is a 15-acre parcel located on the western border of the Guida property. The Cassa property, owned by The Middlesex Land Trust and located on Guida's eastern border, is 7 acres of primarily beech/oak forest on the top of the Jurassic ledge mentioned above. A connecting trail to Guida is planned.
Location Features
| Landscape settings: | • Rural • Woodland • Wetland • Meadow • Gentle hill • Farmland |
| Amenities: | • Letterboxes |
| Activities: |       |
| Neighboring towns: | |
| Access restrictions: | None |
How to get there
| Driving Directions: | From Route 17 south (toward Durham), take the first left after Dooley Pond onto Round Hill Road. Continue straight for 0.5 miles to a stop sign at the intersection of Coleman and Round Hill Roads, and turn right (south) into the parking area. |
| Parking: |
There is parking for several cars in this off-road area. |
| Public transportation: |
Other Items of Interest
| Flora and fauna: | |
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