Mianus River and Natural Park

The Park is located ½ mile east of Stanwich Road on Cognewaugh Road. There are two parking areas, one at Merribrook Lane in Stamford and the other on the north side of Cognewaugh Road above Shannon Lane in Greenwich.

The Mianus River Park, formerly the Goodbody Estate, straddles the Greenwich/Stamford border. Each municipality owns approximately an equal share: Greenwich 109.7 acres acquired in 1972 for $ 500,000 and Stamford 110.3 acres. The Park is open to residents of both communities during daylight hours. Deed restrictions confine activities to passive recreation. There are no facilities for camping or picnicking. Individuals wishing to fish in the Mianus River must first obtain a State fishing license.

There are two trails of note on the Greenwich portion of the Mianus Park property. They are the Pond trail and the Oak trail. The pond trail, wide, well graded and easily traversed, begins at the Cognewaugh Road entrance. It skirts the lowland area, which during the wet seasons may be readily identified as swamp. The red Maple saplings stand in sharp contrast to the mature Oak and Beech in the upland slopes to the west.

The property is typical of the upland spanning the Greenwich/Stamford border. There is a wide variety of  vegetation and wildlife habitat indigenous to soggy wetlands as well as to rocky hillsides. The wooded swamp area is noteworthy for the abundant growth of red Maple. On slightly higher ground at the swamps edge can  be found Black Birch, Tulip Tree, Red Ash and Tupelo plus many types of Fern including: Ladyfern, sensitive Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Maidenhair, Royal Fern and Bracken, just to name a few. As the terrain begins to gently climb  red and black Oak along with Highbush Blueberry and Mountain Laurel predominate, thriving in an  environment where the natural mulch of slow-decaying Oak leaves help to retain moisture.

But clearly, the most prominent features are the bedrock outcrops and ridges, testimony of the passage of the receding glacier many thousands of years ago. Along the Park's highlands as well as along this protected corridor of the Mianus River with its extensive surrounding of deciduous woods, wildlife can roam freely, disturbed by few visitors.

Location: North Cos Cob, East of Cognewaugh Road, on Greenwich/Stamford line, ¾ mile south of Merritt Parkway

Directions fromCentral Greenwich: Take U.S. 1, toward Stamford, after leaving Cos cob and going over Mianus Bridge turn Left onto Cary Rd. Mianus Park is on Cary Rd.

Size: 109.7 Acres

Hr. of Operation: Daylight hours

Parking: in Greenwich off Cognewaugh Rd. in Stamford off Merribrook Rd.