Battle Swamp Brook Preserve & Raven Rock Preserve
Battle Swamp Brook Preserve & Raven Rock Preserve
From the small parking area off Judd’s Bridge Road, a trail passes alongside Battle Swamp Brook for two-thirds of its length, then continues through light forest and over a stone wall to come out on Battle Swamp Road. Hikers may either double back or turn left off Battle Swamp Road and walk on the quiet dirt road back to Judd’s Bridge Road. At the bridge, turn left and head back to the parking lot with the Shepaug River on the right and Raven Rock Preserve on the left. The relatively flat trail is 1.35 miles from Judd’s Bridge Road to Battle Swamp Road and back. The hike is about 2.2. miles if Battle Swamp Road and Judd’s Bridge Road are used to create a loop.
Tucked in along scenic Judd’s Bridge Road, a dirt road that runs along the Shepaug River, Battle Swamp Brook Preserve was established in 1987 with a gift from Ethan Allen. A decade later, the Roxbury Land Trust was able to extend the preserve by 18.5 acres with gifts from Robinson Lacy, John F.P. Lamb, James Taylor, Jeffrey Tindell, and James H. Worth. Rod Thorne gifted the adjoining 20-acre Raven Rock Preserve to the land trust in 1990.
