Huntington Center RecPath Gateway is Done

Barry Mucci of Mucci Excavation completed the Huntington Center gateway for the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path today - just in time for Thanksgiving. Thank you Barry. Here's a photo of him pushing the last load of crushed stone into place at the Lane St. Boardwalk. Barry volunteered a lot of his time to build this section of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path from Lane St. to the Land Trust Boardwalk, and everybody involved appreciates his efforts.

The finish of the project was held up for a few days waiting for materials, but Barry went out of his way to deliver some of the processed aggregate & the Shelton Parks & Rec Department came through with some final stone deliveries. See a picture of Paul dropping off stone below. Thank you to Ron Herrick & Dean Cawthra for your scheduling help. The Shelton Conservation Commission purchased the materials for construction, and the Board of Aldermen authorized the project.

Barry spent the remainder of the day smoothing out all the the areas that had be rutted up with the delivery trucks coming in from Lane St.


There is still some clean-up to be done, but the RecPath is open and had a lot of footprints, bike tracks, and hoof prints on it tonight. Bill Dyer from the Trails Committee will work with the Shelton Bridges & Highways to compact the trail bed next week. There is brush to be chipped, gravel and rocks to be placed, and the shoulders need to be spruced up with woodchips and leaf mulch, but the RecPath is open. The meadow may look a little beaten up right now, but after some of the disturbed areas are seeded we should see a good hay crop next summer. Trails volunteers helped with removal of the invasive species earlier this year so the RecPath could be built, while improving the wildlife habitat and protecting farmland.


Here's a panorama of the RecPath rolling along the edge of the meadow.

The RecPath offers attractive views of woodlands, floodplains, open fields, scenic roads, wetlands, historic cemetaries, and the Bronson Country Club, all within a few minutes walk from the Huntington Community Center. There is plenty of parking, water fountains, rest rooms, and other ammenities available at the Community Center, and there are plenty of restaurants in Huntington Center for all the RecPath users.

The Shelton Land Conservation Trust has a beautiful meadow with a memorial bench just beyond the boardwalk. The boardwalk and RecPath on the Land Trust property were developed with assistance from Iroquois Gas Co. in 2006-2007. The Land Trust recently received a certification from the National Wildlife Federation for their Lane St. property as a wildlife habitat.

Some Eagle Scouts are busy building a sign kiosk for the entrance off Lane St. They have also been busy working on the portion of the RecPath through the Huntington Woods subdivision while this construction has been on-going.

And thanks to Bob Grant for providing a photo of the elusive Means Brook Pheasant on the Shelton Conservation page on Facebook. You get a great bang for your hiking or biking buck on this stretch of the RecPath. Rarely will you see some many different types of wildlife habitats in a short distance with such little effort.

And everybody who enjoys this area should thank Barry Mucci for volunteering to build this section of the RecPath. His actions are a good example of how one civic-minded person can make a difference in their community. The Trails Committee is always looking for more volunteers - feel free to call (203) 926-9572, (203) 924-1555 x315, or email. Look for more news about the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path in the future.

Ultimately, the 4.5 mile long RecPath will be handicapped accessible and allow people of all ages and abilities to enjoy hundreds of acres of public open space along the Shelton Lakes Greenway. The RecPath ties into other trails, open spaces, ballfields, ponds, rivers, canoe launches, schools, neighborhoods, the Senior Center, and other community facilities.

Enjoy the RecPath.