CROCKETT COVE WOODS PRESERVE, STONINGTON
98-acres of dense spruce and fir forest, co-managed with The Nature Conservancy.
ACTIVITIES TO ENJOY AT CROCKETT COVE WOODS:
- Hiking
- Mushroom Observation
- Photography
- Lichen/Moss Observation
1.3 MILE TRAIL SYSTEM:
Traditional Rating: EASY
Accessibility Rating: VERY HARD
EXPLORE THE PRESERVE:
Along the southwest shore of the island, lichens and mosses thrive in the cool, moist air of this coastal fog forest. A wide variety if coniferous forest birds such as Blackburnian warbler and golden-crowned kinglet can also be seen here. Click HERE to learn more from The Nature Conservancy about exploring Crocket Cove Woods Preserve.
DIRECTIONS TO THE PRESERVE
Take Route 15 down the Deer Isle peninsula. Turn right towards Sunset in Deer Isle Village. About three miles past the Sunset Post Office, turn right on Whitman Road. Turn right onto Fire Lane 88. The preserve entrance is marked by a small sign and registration box.
GET TO KNOW THE FLORA & FAUNA
With Ecologist, Dr. Ken Crowell, & Naturalist, Marnie Reed Crowell:
“If you get no farther than the first few hundred feet of trail on this preserve, you will make the acquaintance of an amazing number of mosses and lichens. Even if you are not able to negotiate the boulder heights farther on, this flat stretch will give you a glimpse of the drama to come. The shapes of the Stonington granite outcroppings on this preserve should stir even the most jaded imagination.
On both the rocks and the ground are many species of lichens, those symbiotic partnerships between a fungus and a cyanobacterium or green algae. Many are popularly named with such descriptive words as soldiers, bayonets, pixie cups and the like, but it takes chemical analysis for most to be accurately identified. Color will often tell you when you are looking at lichen, an association of a fungus and its photosynthetic partner, cyanobacteria or green algae. All are a
somewhat grayish green…”
Check Out the FULL Virtual Guided Walk through Crockett Cove Woods
STORY OF PUBLIC ACCESS
When she built the houses along the shore of Crockett Cove, Emily Muir donated the 98 acres of back land for this preserve to The Nature Conservancy in 1975 because she was so struck by the diversity of mosses and lichens here.