If you’re looking for a place to cool down this summer, consider ditching the pavement and hitting the trails to explore Easton’s pristine rivers. A popular destination for fly fishing, the Mill River, which runs through Easton from North to South, is easily accessible just off South Park Avenue. The Aspetuck Land Trust’s Warner Angler’s Preserve enables visitors to get better acquainted with the town’s famous river.
Stepping into the forest, you’ll find well-maintained walking trails through the woods. For much of the way, the river runs right beside you, with the flow of the water dictated by the amount of rainfall we’ve received in the days before.
Stepping into the river, the chill of the water spreads rapidly from your toes to your core. Overhead, the canopy of maple and oak trees shades much of the water, creating a cool refuge from the heat. I haven’t carried out precise scientific measurements, but standing in the shade with the Mill River running over your feet cools you down several notches. Not as cool as Paul Newman, but much cooler than the temperature by the road. (Paul Newman played a role in saving what is now Trout Brook Valley from becoming a golf course.)
If you’re lucky, you may be able to spot one of the river’s native brook trout. We didn’t on our most recent trip, but the river still delivered exactly what we needed: relief from a hot July day. After spending the morning tending the garden, and with our pool out of commission due to some stubborn mechanical issues, we decided the Mill River was the perfect place to cool off.
Clad in Crocs and sandals, with the youngest wearing a bathing suit, we parked along South Park Avenue and hiked into woods. My son, a nature boy if there ever was one, led the way. We followed the trail until the riverbank offered a spot to rest our cooler. I pulled out an ice cold Athletic from it as the kids entered the water. The whole point of this was to chill, after all. (Side note: Athletic donates up to $2 million every year to restore local trails—a nice bonus to drinking their brew.)
The riverbed is a bit challenging to walk on, given the varying shapes and sizes of the rocks below the surface. Still, it’s manageable with a modicum of caution. To blaze a path, I’ve learned to look at the ripples on the surface. Deeper pools within the river mean calmer water above. With sunlight glistening off the ripples, we explored upstream. Fallen trees lying across the river become natural markers for the kids, who love reaching one goal and then racing to see what the next tree might reveal.
Walking the river like this allows you a different perspective of the forest. The trees holding the riverbank together take on a new level of complexity when viewed from the water. And for the kids, the way various minerals shimmer beneath the water makes for endless fascination.
If you didn’t know better, you might think that the stream bed is lined with gold dust. The metallic flecks, probably millions of years old, glitter like treasure in the water, but are most definitely not the real deal. No need to bring your gold sifting pan. There are no fortunes to be made on this river. That’s not the point. “Fool’s gold,” is called what it is for a reason.
Eventually, we made it far enough upstream to pause for a photo on a boulder before turning back. On the way down, we took turns splashing cool, crystal-clear water over our foreheads. Back at our resting spot, we packed up the cooler and retraced our steps to the trailhead.
As we emerged onto South Park Avenue, traffic was light. Even so, a couple of drivers probably did a double take at the sight of kids in bathing suits coming out of the woods. We’ll be back, because these woods and this river feel like a part of us. And a river truly does run through them. With summer temperatures only just beginning to soar, these preserved forests and rivers promise a haven for generations to come—if we continue to protect them.
The Cultural Easton 