Matianuck Natural Area Preserve – Bloomfield, Connecticut - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

AO Edited

Matianuck Natural Area Preserve

Bloomfield, Connecticut

Sand dunes from a glacial lake are preserved in this woodland park. 

View all photos
Ancient sand dunes from Glacial Lake Hitchcock. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
Ancient sand dunes from Glacial Lake Hitchcock. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
Another view of the dunes. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
The entrance to the preserve is often overgrown. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
Grasses stabilize the sands in some places. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
Bits of clam shell and dried driftwood are reminders of the dunes' aquatic origins. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
Plants more common at the seashore can be found among the dunes. Johnmeszaros (Atlas Obscura User)
26
156
Top Places in Connecticut
Walker Library of The History of Human Imagination
Stamford, Connecticut
Remington Shot Tower
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Nathan Hale Schoolhouse
East Haddam, Connecticut
 See All

About 15,000 years ago, water melting off the massive glaciers filled the Connecticut Valley and created Lake Hitchcock. Although the lake drained long ago, sand dunes formed along its shores and a few can still be found in parts of Connecticut. Some of the best-preserved dunes are located in Matianuck Natural Area Preserve, located just a half-mile from Hartford.

Most of the preserve is thick woodland and swamps, but an overgrown path leads to two areas of open, sandy dunes dominated by pitch pines and other plants normally found on beaches. Pieces of bleached clamshells and blackened driftwood are scattered over the sand.  

Know Before You Go

 

The entrance to Matianuck Natural Area Preserve is located in a car park at the intersection of Columbia Road and Route 218 in Windsor, Connecticut. The trails to the dunes are often overgrown and the ground is swampy in places, prepare for rough terrain.

dunes nature preserves geological oddities geology
Nearby
Hartford Circus Fire Memorial
0.89 miles
Statue of Jack the Pardoned Turkey
1.99 miles
A. Everett Austin Facade House
2.62 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
The centerpiece of the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial, where the middle tent post stood.
Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford Circus Fire Memorial

Memorial to one of the most fatal fires in both circus and U.S. history.
Hartford, Connecticut

Statue of Jack the Pardoned Turkey

This sculpture commemorates the first instance of an American president pardoning a turkey.
A. Everett Austin Facade House
Hartford, Connecticut

A. Everett Austin Facade House

This stunning Connecticut mansion is actually just a one-room-deep hoax.
Early tavern signs at the Connecticut Historical Society.
Hartford, Connecticut

Colonial America Tavern Signs Collection

The early American colonists were such ferocious drinkers the law actually required every town to have a tavern.
Related Places
The vast expansive dunes with the mother mountain source on the horizon
Cuatrociénegas, Mexico

Dunas de Yeso

These gleaming gypsum sand dunes are the second-largest in North America.
Lake Posta Fibreno
Carpello, Italy

Lake Posta Fibreno

This serene, turquoise lake in an extraordinary nature reserve showcases a rare natural phenomenon.
Prelate, Saskatchewan

Great Sand Hills

These little-known sands dunes are a geological anomaly in Saskatchewan's southern prairies.
Footprints on the dunes.
Mears, Michigan

Silver Lake Sand Dunes

An unlikely beach paradise of giant sand dunes lies between two lakes just a few minutes from Michigan's cherry country.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web