The rumble of traffic on nearby Route 2 in North Stonington gradually faded the other day, as we ambled farther down a wooded path along the Shunock River.

“A wonderful haven, and so close to home,” I remarked.

Maggie Jones agreed, but then added, “By the way, you’re brushing up against poison sumac.”

I edged away from the shrub, hoping its rash-inducing oil hadn’t penetrated my rain jacket. Sometimes you can’t see the sumac for the trees – in this case, maples just beginning to adopt their autumnal hue, reflected in the river’s still water.

We were strolling through Hewitt Farm, a glorious park that accentuates the value of conserving agricultural land, rather than developing it for homes, shops or hotels.

Thanks to a generous bequest by former property owner Flora Hewitt, as well as to North Stonington residents, who voted to buy the former farm, the 104-acre parcel now is a popular destination for hiking, horseback riding, biking, birdwatching and fishing. It also features a community garden, kayak/canoe launch site, extensive stone walls, historic cemetery, and handsome pavilion that was built by Amish carpenters in 2019.

Maggie, who recently returned from a 300-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon and Washington, didn’t just point out poison sumac during our hike last week. At one spot she stooped to examine a puffball that had dropped onto the trail, and broke open to form a perfect cup, filled with rainwater.

“Amazing!” she exclaimed.

We also passed lavender-hued wild asters, which stood out amid an evergreen understory of princess pine, a native club moss formally known as Lycopodium obscurum.

A short detour from the Bicentennial Trail led us to Tipping Rock, a giant glacial boulder that tempts hikers to climb up a shaky wooden ladder.

Hewitt Road, which cuts through the park, crosses a rebuilt dam that originally helped power John Dean Gallup’s sawmill in the 18th century. Gallup’s 1750 Cape Cod farmhouse, which overlooks the dam, still stands and is privately occupied.

Flora Hewitt and her husband, Fred, purchased the land in the 1920s. After Fred Hewitt’s death, his widow owned it until her passing in 1967. She willed the property to Mystic Seaport Museum, which sold it to the town in 2008.

The Hewitt Farm committee has done an admirable job laying out footpaths and overseeing public use of the property. A Bicentennial Trail, commemorating the 200th anniversary of North Stonington’s incorporation in 1806, is marked with blue signs tracing local history.

Other features include the Mystic Road Trail, which leads to Old Plains Cemetery, as well as the River Trail, which provides access to Greene Gables, the studio of the late artist/photographer Fred Stewart Greene, now listed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places.

The Dew Drop Inn Trail pays tribute to a former roadside diner that was long famous for its 5-cent coffee and homemade pies. That restaurant, which opened in 1918, closed following the retirement of Curtis Moussie in 1992. The old building was torn down in 2010 and replaced with a new restaurant, Buon Appetito Ristorante & Pizzeria, which is located just west of Hewitt Farm’s main entrance on Route 2. A second park entrance is located on Hewitt Road.

Hewitt Farm serves as a welcome respite from busy Route 2, only four miles southeast of Foxwoods Resort Casino, and six miles northwest of downtown Westerly. With so much farmland now paved over – a report by the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality found that the state lost an estimated 45,000 acres of agricultural fields, just between 1985 and 2016 – it’s heartening to have preserved a parcel so emblematic of North Stonington’s rural heritage.

The town certainly has fulfilled its “Hewitt Farm Vision,” pledging that Hewitt Farm “will offer current and future generations a green haven where they can connect with the land, while enjoying the property’s diverse natural environment.”

Hewitt Farm is open daily from dawn to dusk. Parking and admission are free. For more information, call the North Stonington Board of Selectmen’s office at 860-535-2877.

You can also download a copy of a trail map through www.northstoningtonct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4806/f/uploads/hewittfarmtrailmap.pdf