Visit the Guard Hill Preserve in May or June to see a lush wetland thick with skunk cabbage, cinnamon fern and lumpy sphagnum moss hummocks rising between the red maples.

This 76-acre preserve is filled with the songs of black-and-white warblers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and Baltimore orioles and offers views of the meadows and pastures of nearby farms.

Amy and Brian Pennington bought this property in 2000 to prevent its development and donated it to Westchester Land Trust.

The trailhead is on the south side of Guard Hill Road just west of the intersection of Clinton Road. From there, the trail runs southeast along the edge of the preserve, from which you will notice the pastures of Sunnyfield Farm to the west. The trail is open to hikers and horseback riders alike and is shared with the Bedford Riding Lanes Association.