Events & Programs

Put your hands (and not just your boots) on the trails this hiking season by joining Steep Rock Association’s (SRA) Monthly Trail Work Party. The Monthly Trail Work Party meets at 10:00 a.m. the third Saturday of every month from April through October. Have you ever wondered how trail workers build stone steps through remote forested hillsides or boardwalks that meander through swamps? Participants in SRA’s monthly trail work party learn by doing, tackling new and exciting projects every month, ranging from backcountry trail construction to water and vegetation management. Whether you participate for one workday or for the entire season, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie of the group while leaving a lasting, positive impact on the trails you love. The work party meets the third Saturday of every month from April through October from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. Tools and equipment provided. Wear/bring close-toed shoes, a mask, long pants, seasonally appropriate clothing, and a re-usable water bottle. Some hiking to the varying worksites will be necessary.  The monthly work party project will be posted on the SRA website two weeks prior to the event. Families with teens and older children are welcome, but an adult must accompany and participate with children under 16 years of age. Registration is required and limited to 15 participants. CDC protocols regarding mask wearing and social distancing will be enforced. PROGRAM LEADERS: Mike Giapponi, SRA’s Trails and Preserves Manager, will lead the program. Mike leads volunteers in various conservation projects, including the maintenance of SRA’s 46-mile trail network. Steep Rock Association is a nationally-accredited land trust whose mission is to conserve ecologically and historically significant landscapes and riparian corridors in and around Washington CT and to enhance the community’s connection to nature through outreach, education, and passive recreation. Saturday, September 25, 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM Project: This month, we will be moving and shaping stone to create rock waterbars and other drainage features along Meeker Trail. Special thanks to the National Environmental Education Foundation, Toyota Motor North America, International Paper, and the Hilton Effect Foundation for their sponsorship of this project. Location: Macricostas Preserve Main Parking Area (124 Christian St., New Preston, CT.) Note: This event, originally scheduled for 9/18, has been rescheduled to 9/25.

Tunnel Road hugging the banks of the Shepaug River.

Contributed photo

  If you’re looking to explore some of western Connecticut’s most beautiful country with two managers who intimately know the land, this hike is for you. On September 25, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., join Steep Rock Association (SRA) and Roxbury Land Trust (RLT) on a 4-mile inter-town hike along Tunnel Road.  Rory Larson (SRA’s Conservation Science Manager) and Jamie Curren (RLT’s Land and Property Manager), both Roxbury natives, will lead the walk.   This partially closed town road, which connects protected lands owned by the two organizations, offers unparalleled views of the Shepaug River as it follows the waterway’s course into large tracts of preserved, wild lands. It also lies adjacent to the old railroad bed rich in history for discussion along the way. The group will take two slight detours off Tunnel Road to investigate RLT’s Battle Swamp Brook Preserve and the Tunnel itself, a 235-foot passage through bedrock in SRA’s Steep Rock Preserve, from which the road received its name.   The hike will start at the main parking lot of Steep Rock Preserve located at 2 Tunnel Road in Washington Depot and finish at RLT’s Battle Swamp Preserve on Judd’s Bridge Road in Roxbury. A shuttle bus will then bring all participants back to the starting point in Washington, concluding the program. Participants will be required to wear a mask on the shuttle bus. Additionally, participants should wear appropriate footwear for a long, moderately difficult hike and bring plenty of water. Inclement weather will postpone the program until the following day, September 26, 2021.  

Steep Rock Association’s first annual Rossiter Run 5K Race and Fun Run/Walk will be held Saturday, October 9^th at 9:00 am in Steep Rock Preserve (2 Tunnel Rd, Washington, CT) rain or shine.  Online Registration begins Monday, September 20 and ends Friday October 8^th at 10:00 pm.  Day of race registration begins at 7:30 am and will be cash or check only. Registration fee begins at $25 online and increases to $35 day of race.  Youth racers are $10. There is no fee for the Fun Run/Walk. The race course is a beautiful route along the Shepaug River with a gradual incline in the stunning Steep Rock Preserve, originally gifted by Ehrick Rossiter in 1925. This race is open to all level of runners and awards will be given to the top male and female finishers in each age division, as well as to the overall male and female winners.  With our environment in mind, please bring your own water bottles. We will have water to refill them.

  Join Steep Rock Association as well as the rest of the town of Washington for some fall themed fun at the Harvest Festival. We will have our own informational booth complete with pumpkin carving this year! Carve the animals that call Steep Rock home.

Preserve monitors walk the boundaries of a Steep Rock Association nature preserve in 2019.  
Photo credit: Katie at m3mediapro.com

  SRA invites you to scramble through the remote corners of Washington and explore the landscape in a truly unique way. Did you know that SRA has over 30 preserves scattered throughout town? These preserves range from wetlands to mixed hardwood forest; some are old apple orchards while old growth forests and glacial boulder fields dominate others. The one thing they all have in common is that SRA must walk their boundaries annually, monitoring the preserves for ecosystem health, signs of trespass, and presence of wildlife. This fall, we ask for your help. If you have ever driven the roads of Washington and wondered what lay beyond those yellow “Steep Rock Preserve” property signs, now is your chance to find out.   We will start each day at 8:30 a.m. with coffee and light refreshments during an indoor training, which will take place at the Steep Rock House (116 Christian St. New Preston, CT). Learn how to use your smartphone as a GPS, what to look for as you walk the preserves, and how to mark and record your findings.  Bring a friend or we will match you with a partner, and then drive out to your assigned preserve to begin the outdoor monitoring. After walking the boundaries and recording any findings, meet back at the site of the indoor training to share your experiences and enjoy a complimentary lunch as a thank you for your time and efforts.  Terrain and hiking difficulty vary widely. Participants will have the option to register for easy, intermediate, or difficult routes. Easier routes consist of hikes totaling approximately 45 minutes or less through flatter terrain while more difficult routes demand hiking over 2 hours through steeper areas. Please note that in all of the preserves, some degree of bushwhacking will be necessary. Participants should wear/bring sturdy waterproof boots, thick pants, long-sleeved shirts, sunscreen, bug spray, a water bottle, and cell phone if you have one. An adult must accompany children under 16.  Registration is required. PROGRAM LEADERS: Mike Giapponi, SRA’s Trails and Preserves Manager will lead the program. Mike leads volunteers in various conservation projects, including the maintenance of SRA’s 46-mile trail network.   Steep Rock Association is a nationally-accredited land trust whose mission is to conserve ecologically and historically significant landscapes and riparian corridors in and around Washington CT and to enhance the community’s connection to nature through outreach, education, and passive recreation.

It's time to put the Garden to bed.  On Saturday, October 23 from 9:00 am - noon and Sunday, October 24 from noon - 3:00 pm we’ll clean away plant debris, prep beds and plant seeds to greet us early next spring. All are welcome to participate no matter your skills or age (children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). Judea Garden, The Giving Garden, grows and distributes organically grown produce to our neighbors in need.  Now in our 13th season, we have helped fill plates and bellies with over 40,000 pounds of fresh vegetables.  This could not have happened without our volunteers. Please register and complete the 2021 volunteer registration form (if you haven't done it yet).  Contact Denise Arturi (denise.arturi@steeprockassoc.org) with any questions.  

Join Steep Rock Association on a level, 1.5-mile hike along Bee Brook at Macricostas Preserve where beavers abound. During the outing, we will review beaver habits, witness their ecosystem services firsthand, discuss ethical management strategies to address human conflicts, and with any luck, see these aquatic rodents busily engineering a place to spend the winter. Registration is required.

Put your hands (and not just your boots) on the trails this hiking season by joining Steep Rock Association’s (SRA) Monthly Trail Work Party. The Monthly Trail Work Party meets at 10:00 a.m. the third Saturday of every month from April through October. Have you ever wondered how trail workers build stone steps through remote forested hillsides or boardwalks that meander through swamps? Participants in SRA’s monthly trail work party learn by doing, tackling new and exciting projects every month, ranging from backcountry trail construction to water and vegetation management. Whether you participate for one workday or for the entire season, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie of the group while leaving a lasting, positive impact on the trails you love. The work party meets the third Saturday of every month from April through October from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. Tools and equipment provided. Wear/bring close-toed shoes, a mask, long pants, seasonally appropriate clothing, and a re-usable water bottle. Some hiking to the varying worksites will be necessary.  The monthly work party project will be posted on the SRA website two weeks prior to the event. Families with teens and older children are welcome, but an adult must accompany and participate with children under 16 years of age. Registration is required and limited to 15 participants. CDC protocols regarding mask wearing and social distancing will be enforced. PROGRAM LEADERS: Mike Giapponi, SRA’s Trails and Preserves Manager, will lead the program. Mike leads volunteers in various conservation projects, including the maintenance of SRA’s 46-mile trail network. Steep Rock Association is a nationally-accredited land trust whose mission is to conserve ecologically and historically significant landscapes and riparian corridors in and around Washington CT and to enhance the community’s connection to nature through outreach, education, and passive recreation. Saturday, November 20, 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM Project: Additional project details will be posted here by November 6. Location: TBD