seasonal warning
Be aware KLT permits hunting on this property on a limited basis to licensed hunters who have been given consent. Please read kiosk hunting signs. Please be alert and wear blaze orange when on hiking trails or in the woods during hunting seasons.
Click here for a link to CT DEEP's Hunting & Trapping Regulations.
The Bull Mountain Preserve is a spectacular mountaintop property acquired by the Kent Land Trust in November 1997 and later expanded to its current 101 acres. The Preserve features distinctive rock outcroppings, mature coniferous and hardwood forest, an inviting trail following old wood roads, and, as a reward for reaching the main trail’s end, glorious views of the Womenshenuk Valley.
Forward-thinking South Kent neighbors Philip and Roberta Puschel and Robert and Carol Lenz arranged and contributed the necessary funds for the purchase of the original 77.7 acre Bull Mountain Preserve. But access to the Preserve was difficult for many years. Land purchases and gifts in 2015, one by Joseph Raslavsky and another by Katherine Greig and David Schwimmer, linked the Preserve to Mountain Road. And in 2017 neighbors Kenneth Cooper and Charmian Place donated more contiguous land – a lofty piece with western exposure. Thanks to these purchases and gifts, visitors may now follow the trail through to Bull Mountain’s vista.
As you wind along the trail, reflect on Bull Mountain’s natural history. The rock below you started as muddy deposits beneath the Iapetus Ocean over 500 million years ago. When continents collided the mud was lifted and transformed, creating shale and later the gneiss formation now underlying Bull Mountain. Glaciers came and went. The last great ice sheet retreated some 12,000 years ago, depositing erratic boulders (keep a look out!) and scraping the mountain down to near its present height of 1,140 feet. Soil formed and forests took hold. Trees were felled in the 19th century to make fuel for the region’s iron furnaces. Then the trees grew back. Today, Bull Mountain’s rich woods provide excellent habitat for a variety of wildlife. Perhaps you will see or hear some along the way.
Consistent with the mission of the Kent Land Trust, use of Bull Mountain Preserve is limited to noncommercial, passive recreational activities. For more information about the property please contact the Kent Land Trust at (860) 488-9185 or info@kentlandtrust.org.
Acreage: 101
Distance: Main trail, 0.9 mi; Orange-blazed loop, 0.4 mi
Difficulty: Moderate
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The Bull Mountain Preserve features distinctive rock outcroppings and amazing views. The green-blazed main trail climbs through a shady hemlock forest, follows old wood roads through a more open oak woodland, and ends at a rocky outcrop with a wide-angle view of the Womenshenuk Valley. From here, the 0.4-mile orange-blazed loop follows winding stone walls along the Preserve’s west boundary, with views opening up here and there along the way, and returns to the main trail.