Ersbacher
Preserve is located in
Roxbury, CT and is a wonderful
place to go and get away from it
all.
The preserve consists of a parcel
of land donated by the Erbacher
Family as a place to relax and
take in some fresh air.
The neat thing about Erbacher is
you have to walk through another
preserve just to get to it. There
are no roads accessing the
preserve.
River Road Preserve, located off
of River Road, has a Roxbury
residents-only swimming hole and
blue trail loop that you'll need
to hike on in order to access
Ersbacher Preserve.
At the farthest point of River
Road trail is a footbridge over
the Shepaug River.
Cross this bridge to access the
entrance to Ersbacher. Before
heading over the bridge read the
map and information board to
familiarize yourself with the
Ersbacher trail system and get any
updates on the preserve.
After heading over the footbridge
take a left onto the trail as it
follows an old dirt utility road.
To your right will be thick
woodlands and on your left you'll
see boggy areas and open fields at
various spots along the trail.
After a good distance down the
utility road path, the trail turns
right and heads into the woods
(just keep an eye to the right as
you walk down the path as it would
be easy to miss this right turn
and just keep walking on the old
dirt utility road. Look for the
small blue markers with metal
icons of a hiker in them).
The trail proceeds farther into
the woods for an extremely
peaceful experience.
A short distance later as the
trail dips down for a brief time
there is a side trail into some
great open fields.
In summertime these fields are
loaded with tall grasses,
wildflowers, butterflies, and
birds along with a wide range of
interesting insect life. It's a
good place to take a break before
proceeding on with the rest of
your hike.
Shortly after the open field
excursions the trail rises up
again to the right.
You'll be presented with a choice
of going right or straight. You
need to go right and follow the
trail as it continues through the
woods and eventually back down to
the dirt utility road part of the
trail where you began.
When you get back to the utility
road take a left and head back to
the footbridge.
Go back over the footbridge and go
to the left as the river trail
will take you back to your car at
the parking lot of River Road
Preserve.
Directions:The
directions we're giving assume
that you'll get to Roxbury using
Route 67 west/south direction.
Follow Route 67 via
Brookfield/Bridgewater/New Milford
way and over the Roxbury town
line.
Shortly after the town line sign
67 curves sharply to the left.
A short distance later you'll see
a small bridge spanning the
Shepaug River. Take a right here
onto Weller's Bridge Road.
A few hundred yards up Weller's
Bridge Road is River Road which
becomes part dirt road.
Take a right onto River Road and
the River Road Preserve parking
lot will be on your right a few
tenths of a mile up the dirt road
If you have any trail updates to
share or have feedback/questions
please click
here to send email or call
203.788.7665
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