Great Mountain Forest

10/14/2026

🍂 Leaf the ordinary ride behind. The annual Tour de Forest rolls into Norfolk this Saturday—and registration is still open! Choose your adventure:

🚴 30-Mile Icebox Gravel Route
A tough, rewarding rural gravel ride through Great Mountain Forest and much of Norfolk.

🚲 13-Mile Tour de Forest
A fun, beginner-friendly blend of paved and gravel roads winding through the forest.

Enjoy the vibrant colors of the canopy while biking in the brisk autumn breeze. Ready to roll? Register at our website.

All proceeds support Norfolk Rails to Trails and Great Mountain Forest.

10/07/2026

🌲 A Vision for the Future...Over the past year, Great Mountain Forest has collaborated with graduate students from the Yale School of Architecture, the Yale Building Lab, and GOA Architecture to envision a model campus rooted in circular material flows, wood-based structural innovation, and forest resilience. Join GMF and participating Yale School of Architecture students for Regenerative Building for Resilient Forests—a public reception exploring conceptual designs that connect thoughtful architecture with stronger forest stewardship, education, research, and hands-on material experimentation. Meet the students, explore their ideas, and see how architects and foresters can work together to maintain healthy, resilient forests.

Public Reception
📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
🕓 4:00 p.m.
📍 Norfolk Library, 9 Greenwoods Road East, Norfolk, CT

Learn more and register at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/7n4qf9b

10/01/2026

Take in the autumn air with Great Mountain Forest and check out our upcoming events!

Learn more and register at https://greatmountainforest.org/events/

09/30/2026

🍂🚴 Hit the trails this fall at the annual Tour de Forest in Norfolk! On October 17, ride through one of Connecticut’s most beautiful landscapes and soak in amazing autumn color along the way.

Choose your ride:
🚴30-mile Icebox Gravel Route — a tough, rewarding rural gravel adventure in Great Mountain Forest and much of Norfolk
Starts at 9:30 a.m.

🚴13-mile Tour de Forest — a fun, beginner-friendly mix of paved and gravel roads through the forest and a smaller section of Norfolk
Starts at 10:00 a.m.

Whether you’re ready to push your limits on gravel or want a relaxed ride through the woods, this is your chance to explore one of Connecticut’s largest forests with a welcoming cycling community. Don’t miss it — register today: https://www.bikereg.com/76628

Photos courtesy of Robert Gilchrest (1) and Andra Moss (2, 3)

09/28/2026

Meet and connect with friends from the conservation community at Norbrook Brewery this Wednesday at 5 pm! We look forward to seeing you all there!

Come out and mingle with fellow nature lovers. Join us for Meet Your Greens this Wednesday, September 30. Enjoy a refreshing beverage and great conversation with local conservation organizations and environmentally minded neighbors at a casual happy hour dedicated to caring about Connecticut’s lands, farms, and waters.

📅 Wednesday, September 30
⏰ 5–7 p.m.
📍 Norbrook Farm Brewery, Colebrook, Norbrook Farm Brewery

Light refreshments provided. Drinks available for purchase. All are welcome—no RSVP needed.

Co‑hosts: Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, Aton Forest Norfolk, Colebrook Land Conservancy, Great Mountain Forest, Norfolk Land Trust, and Wi******er Land Trust

09/23/2026

Striking in fall. Destructive in the forest. Introduced from East Asia as an ornamental plant and for erosion control, Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) may look beautiful in autumn, with its bright yellow-and-red berries and winding vines—but in Connecticut’s forests, this aggressive plant is anything but harmless. As noted by UConn Extension, it can climb up to 60 feet and grow as thick as four inches, wrapping around and smothering native plants—especially young trees and shrubs vital to forest renewal.

Protecting our forests starts with recognizing the problem and knowing how to respond. That’s why GMF is offering a course on Invasive Plant Species in Connecticut on October 7, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Led by experts, this course combines classroom instruction with field identification and practical discussion on plant ecology and management.

Register today at greatmountainforest.org

09/16/2026

🍂 Fall is showing off at Great Mountain Forest—come capture it and make something beautiful.

Join artist Katie Atkinson on October 3 from 10 am to 11:30 am for a relaxed, beginner-friendly workshop and turn the season’s brilliant foliage, shifting light, and rich atmosphere into your own artwork. The session begins with a short mindfulness meditation to help you slow down and connect with the landscape. Then you’ll use oil pastels on heavy paper to create an expressive, impressionistic piece inspired by the forest around you. Set inside the cozy Mountain House Barn, with a wood stove, sweeping views, and nearby picnic tables, this is the perfect chance to unwind, get creative, and let the forest lead the way. All materials are included.

Sign up at https://greatmountainforest.org/events/

09/15/2026

Come work with us! Great Mountain Forest is seeking an Office Manager for our Administrative Office in Norfolk, CT. This position is 16 to 20 hours per week, Monday to Thursday.

Responsibilities include:
🌲Front office and team support
🌲Governance, compliance, and record-keeping
🌲Finance and development administration
🌲Human resources, insurance, and IT assistance
🌲Other related duties as needed

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply today: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10wS03YXPEhpzNH-tZvxSGfSOFObvwwl2/view

09/09/2026

🌲 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is on the Move 🌲

This tiny invasive insect may be small, but its impact is huge. The hemlock woolly adelgid has killed millions of hemlock trees across the eastern United States—and as winters warm, it’s expected to keep spreading north and west, putting more of our eastern hemlocks at risk. Want to learn how to spot forest threats and respond with confidence? Join Great Mountain Forest’s Woodland Academy for Forest Diseases Facing Connecticut’s Woodlands on September 25, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

You’ll explore:
🌲 Major forest diseases and pests
🌲 Their impacts on ecosystems
🌲 Practical monitoring and management strategies

Learn more and register today to help protect Connecticut’s forests. 🌿
https://greatmountainforest.org/forest-diseases-facing-connecticuts-woodlands/



Photo Credit: David A. Mitchell, Pen Waggener

09/08/2026

Get involved this September with Great Mountain Forest! Attend wildlife talks, plant native species in the forest, and more.

Learn more and register at https://greatmountainforest.org/events/.