Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

WALLINGFORD, CT — Tucked away, past the community garden and Little League baseball and soccer fields, is the Tyler Mill Preserve in Wallingford — the latest stop in a quest to find Hidden Gems throughout Connecticut.

Known as a popular hiking, trail running and mountain biking location, Tyler Miller Preserve is truly hidden off East Center Street past Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. It’s a good bet that parents watching their kids’ baseball and soccer games don’t even know it’s there.

One fan of the preserve wrote on the popular Connecticut Hiking and Outdoor Adventures Facebook group that Tyler Mill is their “go to place for a quick hike, and I trail run there several times a week.”

The preserve features numerous trails and a variety of terrain, along with many streams and plenty of open fields.

Much like the famous Sleeping Giant State Park in nearby Hamden, Tyler Mill Preserve has a much different look after severe storms hit the area in May 2018. Like Sleeping Giant, Tyler Mill Preserve was closed for more than a year due to storm-related damage. The storm system, which wreaked havoc across Connecticut, spawned four tornadoes and several macrobursts that leveled trees and damaged homes.

Tyler Mill Preserve reopened in May 2019. Perhaps the easiest way to find it is to travel to 1151 East Center Street in Wallingford and make your way past the baseball and soccer fields. For more information about the trails, visit here.

Some other things to keep in mind if you venture out to find this “Hidden Gem,” the Tyler Mill Preserve is within five minutes of Wallingford’s wine trail and about 10 minutes from the famous Neil’s Donuts… a couple of the town’s not-so-hidden “gems.”

The Connecticut Hidden Gem series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path.