Poliak Preserve

Ownership

Redding Land Trust

Acreage

32

Entrance

Railroad Crossing at 193 Simpaug Turnpike
Note: This is a legal private crossing, but there are no gates or warning lights, only a stop sign. Please be careful.

Parking

Along Simpaug, limited. Do not park in 193 driveway.

Trails

Janice's Loop, 0.5 miles
Saul's Loop, 0.4 miles

Trail App

Poliak Preserve

Background: The bulk of Poliak Preserve was donated by Saul and Janice Poliak, longtime residents of Redding who were active members of the community and generous philanthropists. Saul was a pioneer in the industrial convention business. Both world travelers, Jan often spoke about their experiences abroad at the Mark Twain Library.

Their home was further North on Simpaug Turnpike and included a beautiful pond known to longtime residents as "Catfish Pond." Each summer, the Poliaks hosted a summer party at their house on the Saugatuck, where families picnicked and games were arranged for the kids.

Key Features: Janice’s Loop around Poliak Pond is a wonderful stroll past dogwoods, summersweet, alders, and mountain laurel. Beavers have been active lately—numerous trees have been girdled, and a lodge sits just North of the pond. Go near sunset and the beavers may slap their tails in the water to warn you away. Saul’s Loop veers off under thick-barked chestnut oaks and provides views of a wide marsh pond and a boulder-strewn hillside. From here, the Furlough Trail has been granted access by private owners to bring hikers onto the Henry and Lotte Fields Preserve, which follows a peaceful stretch of the Saugatuck River up to George Hull Hill Road. There, past an old bridge and a parking strip, the Furlough leads onto the Col. Alfred McCormack Preserve. ❧