Many people who visit or drive past The Copp Family Park on Route 184 in Groton likely assume that although the parcel includes a picnic area and a few short trails for stretching the legs, the property is mainly for dog-walkers.

After all, a well-traveled trail from the parking lot leads to a fenced-in area called Central Bark, where canines can cavort off-leash, under the watchful eyes of their owners.

Happily for active humans, the 240-acre, town-owned property also contains miles of paths that range from smooth and flat to surprisingly rocky and hilly.

“It can get pretty wild and woolly,” said Dick Conant, a member of the Groton Parks Foundation board, who organized a hike there last week. At one point, our group used fixed ropes to scramble down one edge of a steep ravine and haul ourselves up the other side.

“That gets your heart pumping,” said Jim Sherrard, vice chairman of the Copp Family Park Board of Overseers. Members of the Copp board also belong to the foundation, which helps support all town parks, including the Copp property.

The last time I hiked in the park, shortly after it opened, the trails weren’t fully established, and I wound up bushwhacking through brambles before turning around. Now well-maintained and clearly marked by Groton Parks and Recreation, the paths are clear, varied and rewarding, leading hikers to water views with a beaver lodge, over precipitous ledges, alongside giant boulders, across meadows and through laurel tunnels.

The park also contains rock formations with such fanciful names as Eagle Claw Ledge and Upper and Lower Dragonspine.

“It’s another one of Groton’s hidden gems,” said Maggie Jones, director emeritus of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic.

Although our group occasionally drifted within earshot of traffic on I-95 and construction equipment grinding away at adjacent reservoir properties owned by Groton Utilities, for the most part we enjoyed sublime serenity.

“It’s such a beautiful piece of property,” said Andy Halsey, who roamed and romped there as a kid.

Andy’s uncle, Belton Allyn Copp IV — a prominent lawyer, ardent conservationist and World War II hero — was instrumental in orchestrating the 1988 sale of property that had been owned and occupied by his family for generations. The land was valued at $4.5 million, but the Copps agreed to sell it for $3 million to the town with the stipulation that it be maintained as open space for recreation, and managed by a board of overseers.

Andy, a member of the board, said his uncle, who died in 2011 at age 91, would approve of how the property has been preserved and made accessible to the public.

“He’d be very happy,” Andy said.

Andy met us near the site of the family homestead, which had been destroyed by a fire years ago. Only vestiges of a foundation remain.

“My great-grandfather and grandfather were both born here,” he said.

Maggie pointed out that a nearby lilac bush, a hardy, long-lived species, likely had been planted by one of the early Copps, who moved to the property in the mid-1800s. Buildings may come and go, but nature often endures.

At one point, Dick took a short detour and emerged carrying skin that had been shed by a large snake. Maggie carefully draped it on a bush in hopes that it would be claimed by a flycatcher, a bird that often uses snake skins for nesting material, she explained.

By coincidence, a live black rat snake slithered across the trail moments later. In addition, we observed a spotted sandpiper, red-winged blackbirds, nesting osprey and a scarlet tanager, among other avian species.

Also joining the hike were Dominic Venditti, chairman of the Copp Family Board of Overseers; Ray Munn, board secretary; and Betsy and Bob Graham, who, along with Maggie, have been accompanying me on hikes in parks and preserves for more than a year during the pandemic.

Ray and Maggie, who have been hiking Copp trails for years, led us on a roundabout route to areas that even other board members hadn’t explored.

“This is really eye-opening,” Jim, the vice-chairman, remarked.

From the parking lot, we followed a yellow-blazed path along the west side of the park that parallels Great Brook. The brook empties into Buddington Pond, which eventually connects to the Groton Reservoir, a public water supply owned by City of Groton Utilities.

A chain-link fence and no-trespassing signs discourage Copp Park hikers from straying onto this property. Similar impediments are in place on the east side of the park, where Groton Utilities owns Pohegnut Reservoir.

While utilities officials have long resisted allowing hikers to pass through their reservoir properties in Ledyard and Groton, in recent months there have been encouraging discussions with representatives of the Tri-Town Trail Association, who for years have been trying to establish a 14-mile path from Preston Community Park to Bluff Point Coastal Reserve in Groton.

If approved, this trail likely would pass through the Copp Family Park. Copp board members said last week they are cautiously optimistic about prospects for a Tri-Town Trail and are eager to cooperate.

That’s great news, and all hikers who appreciate connected greenbelt corridors eagerly await completion of this proposed pathway.

The Copp Family Park is open daily during daylight hours, free of charge. The parking lot at 821 Gold Star Highway (Route 184) is across from Gungywamp Road.

More information, including a map of the park and its trails, is available on the town website:

https://www.groton-ct.gov/facility_detail_T74_R115.php