The Nature Conservancy - Williams Woods Natural Area

Volunteers and staff at Williams Woods trailhead

Parking area and the start of the trail at Williams Woods Natural Area.

Visitor Information

There is a one-mile trail at this preserve and a brochure is available for download. Williams Woods brochure (PDF, 720KB)

Get Involved

Would you like to get outside and help nature at the same time? Our stewardship staff holds volunteer work days here and around the state. Check out our volunteer page.

Williams Woods may be the best remaining mature valley clayplain forest in the Champlain Valley. This forest type is composed of white oak, red oak, red maple, white pine, shagbark hickory and white ash. Associated species include hemlock, sugar maple, beech and bur oak. Although this forest type once covered thousands of acres in the Champlain Valley, woodlands like these are now rare.

Size
63 acres

What to see: plants
There are five different natural community types within Williams Woods: a valley clayplain forest, a white pine and hemlock stand, mixed hardwoods, a marshy area along Thorp Brook, and a regenerating field.

What to see: animals
Vernal pools associated with Thorp Brook are important breeding sites for amphibians. Williams Woods is home to a number of amphibians such as the blue-spotted salamander, the grey tree frog, and the red-spotted newt. Barred owls have been sighted in the forest as well.

Why the Conservancy selected this site
Williams Woods is an excellent example of valley clayplain forest.

What the Conservancy is doing
We hope to protect and restore other clayplain forests in the Lake Champlain region. The Conservancy’s stewardship team is controlling invasive plant species and maintaining the trail at Williams Woods.

Visitor information
There is a one-mile trail at this preserve and a short brochure is available for download. Williams Woods brochure (PDF, 720KB) Please read our preserve visitation guidelines.

Directions
From the north: Take Route 7 south and turn right at the stop light in Charlotte at Ferry Road, which is also called F-5. Drive 0.3 mile to the stop sign. Turn left onto Greenbush Road, also called CR 22K in the Vermont Gazetteer. Drive two miles then veer left. Be careful at this intersection. Stay left on Greenbush Road as it continues (paved) to the south. (If you come to a railroad crossing, you’ve mistakenly turned off onto Thomsons Point Road.) Travel approximately one mile further on Greenbush until you come to a green Williams Woods sign and the parking area on the right.

From the south: On Route 7, traveling north toward North Ferrisburg, turn left onto Greenbush Road Travel about 3.5 miles. Look for the green Williams Woods sign and the small parking area on the left.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © TNC Photo Archive (Trail sign at Williams Woods Natural Area).