About the Preserve
Jesse Buell Forest has three access points. A small parking area is located on the right-hand side of the road about ¼ mile down Cream Pot Road off Hurd Bridge Road. The lot is just past a small foot bridge leading into the Indian River Complex. A second entrance point is at the end of Taylor Ridge Road off Ironworks Road. The third skirts the edge of a neighbor's property on Ironworks Road, with no parking area.
This 115 acre tract of land features 7 trails which range in difficulty from easy to moderate with a few short, steep sections. The preserve has beautiful ridges and ledge outcroppings along wooded trails. It is home to numerous flora and fauna including many species of oak, maple, tulip poplar, mountain laurels and native understory. A multitude of birds, including barred owls and red-tailed hawks, along with rabbits, deer, and many other animals can be found hiding in the thickets.
A portion of the blue and red trails pass through wetlands and past a vernal pool where peepers and other amphibians can be heard and seen in the spring. The white trail passes along a segment of Bass Brook, providing aquatic habitats. Crossing a tributary of the Indian River, the Bass Brook trail will take you to a second parcel, the Dowd property, with a trail following the brook upstream and leading to the end of Cream Pot Road.