BRECKENRIDGE SANCTUARY

Non-Motorized Uses
Location: This trail begins about two miles up Old Goshen Road. There is pullout parking for three cars on the left about 100 yards after the road crosses the West Branch of the Mill River and turns into dirt. Look for the Williamsburg Woodland Trails logo.

History: The Breckenridge property encompasses 67 acres of forested lands, trails and streams. The property was donated by Margaret Breckenridge to the Nature Conservancy, then transferred to the Hilltown Land Trust, the local land conservation organization that owns and manages it today.

Margaret, a 5th grade teacher at Williamsburg’s Anne T. Dunphy School, was a lover of nature and horseback riding. Her husband Edwin crafted the trails on the land, which they both enjoyed for riding, hiking and snowshoeing in winter.

Over the years the West Branch of the Mill River has been a popular fishing spot, and hikers have reported seeing an abundance of wildlife including deer, turkeys, salamanders and even the sighting of a mountain lion. In 2003, an AmeriCorp Volunteer crew built a new trail to connect the existing trails to the parking area on Old Goshen Road. They constructed a timber bridge and also cleared and blazed some of the old trails on the property.

Trail Description: From the parking pullout, the trail descends into the floodplain through laurel, beech and hemlock. It traverses the floodplain and crosses Blake Brook on a timber bridge constructed from hemlock cut on the site. The trail then switchbacks up a steep slope, crosses a ridge and joins an old wood road just after passing between two red oak trees. From here, you can choose to go either direction on the loop. At the east end of the loop, you will connect to a wide trail that follows the West Branch of the Mill River and is used by snowmobilers in the winter. This trail, as well as another spur, crosses on to private lands.

A short spur trail used by snowmobilers is closed in other seasons and does not appear on the map. Please stay off it.

As you walk the one-mile loop trail, enjoy the native woodlands and streams, and keep a lookout for interesting flora and fauna.

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