IVES TRAIL

GREENWAY

CONNECTING DANBURY,
BETHEL AND RIDGEFIELD, CT

Ives Trail map looking south. Courtesy of Rick DeWitt

IVES TRAIL INFORMATION: ivestrail@yahoo.com

IVES TRAIL GREENWAY AND RELATED MAPS
--- Ives Trail Overview Map

--- Danbury's Tarrywile Park Trail Map
--- DEP's Wooster Mountain State Park Map
--- Ridgefield Open Space Assoc. Bennett's Pond and Pine Mtn. Trail Maps
--- Bethel's Preservation Advocates for Terre Haute Trail Maps

OVERVIEW OF IVES TRAIL GREENWAY
The City of Danbury Connecticut is leading the development of the Ives Trail Greenway, a regional trail that links open spaces in Bethel, Danbury, and Ridgefield, Connecticut.

The trail will extend fourteen miles, from Terre Haute in Bethel, northwesterly to Rogers Park in Danbury, past the Charles Ives Homestead, and then southerly thru Tarrywile Park.

It will then continue southwesterly across Route 7 and through Wooster Mountain State Park to the existing trail systems in Ridgefield's Bennetts Pond Park and Pine Mountain Park.

The Ives Trail is named in honor of Charles E. Ives. Born in Danbury in 1874, Ives is noted for his original classical compositions, winning the Pulitzer prize in 1947 for his Symphony Number 3. Danbury's Ives has the significant distinction of being Connecticut's state composer.

The Ives Trail Committee has carefully planned a trail that protects sensitive environmental areas. In consultation with The National Park Service and The Conway School of Landscape Design, a management and maintenance plan for the trail is being prepared. Local conservation groups, the City of Danbury and Towns of Bethel and Ridgefield are strong supporters of this greenway.

Parts of the trail are currently under construction and the main portion officially opened on June 3, 2006, National Trails Day, when 19 persons became the first to hike the entire trail.

Hiking enthusiasts who have completed the Ives Trail from start to finish can apply for a commemorative patch suitable for affixing to a jacket, backpack, or hat.