HOLCOMB HILL

One of my earliest discoveries was the top of Newtown, the highest point in town, 832 feet above sea level, known today as the Holcomb Preserve. This 86-acre panacea of meadow and woods, grass and trees, nestled between Great Hill Road and Birch Hill Road in the Taunton section of town looms large on my dog walking radar.

During my pet sitting days, I would load up my dogs in the van before I darted around town tending to my clients’ pets, and always ended up at Holcomb Hill to let my beasts out for a sniff fest. The only disappointment to this site is the very small parking lot, and the word “lot” is an overstatement. Many times I would have to drive past because the area was filled with the maximum four cars.

In the beginning, I was shy about exploring the property with my two dogs, Bruno and Basia, and only walked directly up the gravel driveway to access the “Red Vista Loop” at the top of the hill. This walk was also very short. Great for small puppies, but we could hike the whole loop in 15 minutes. The dogs would balk, “Hey, you call that a walk?” and eventually we started doing the vista loop twice, first to the left and then to the right. This quelled the troops for a while. One caveat about this trail is in the winter, with deep snow, this route is the best since the driveway is plowed and you only have to trudge through the snow in a smaller circle at the top of the hill.

Into The Woods

Looking for longer options, we next tried the “Brown Woods Trail” which is conveniently located off the “Green Meadow Trail” on the right side of the property as you head up the driveway. The little area of meadow and woods at the beginning of the walk can get mighty wet during spring time when the water table is high and the ground well saturated, so wear tall rubber boots unless you want mud in your socks.

This wooded trail is great on sunny warm days as it shades the dogs and prolongs their urge to pant. It is also great exercise with its varied terrain of large rocks, small streams, flat dirt paths and the occasional large tree trunk to jump over. It also meanders down near a pond towards the end of the trail, very bucolic. Only once did I take a wrong turn and end up lost, but the dogs helped me out. When you leave the wooded trail, hook up with meadow trail and head back around the east side of the property, you can almost make it last an hour, if you are leisurely. My dogs however are never leisurely.

The best walk at Holcomb Hill is the “Green Meadow Trail” route, especially when freshly mowed in early June. We love to walk up the driveway, hang a left, walk the whole loop until we get three-quarters of the way around, then hang a right and make our way up to the “Red Vista Loop,” walk around there, and check out the views.

Stunning Views

If you follow the handy chart located in the Newtown Trails Book, one can see nearly 20 miles out to Southbury, Oxford Airport and Osborne Hill.

Whatever direction you look on a sunny day, the blue sky sparkles while the green hills hug you, and especially in autumn, splash you with brilliant earthen tones. The dogs just like to sniff the air for squirrels!    

After the views, we walk down the driveway, hang a left and do the trail the opposite way. This makes a good hour walk for the dogs. And if you, or your dogs, need to rest there is a conveniently located park bench at the back end of the property to catch your breath as well as one on the vista loop with better views. 

Please remember that dogs are to be kept on a leash at all times. I’ve had some scary moments when a bounding yellow Lab (and it’s always a bounding yellow Lab) comes around the corner to meet my intact male elkhound face-to-face. Usually after a split second of “Now what?” the dogs would be fine. While your dog may be friendly, you never know whose dog might be lurking around the corner! Stay safe and enjoy nature connected to your dog. 

Lisa Peterson, a long-time breeder of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the Director of Club Communications at the American Kennel Club. Contact her at ask@lisa-peterson.com  or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.