In July, North County Land Trust celebrated the opening of publicly accessible trails at Sibley Conservation Area in Westminster.
First conserved in 2001, Sibley Conservation Area safeguards over 500 feet of Phillips Brook, forestland, wetlands, and a cold-water fishery that is home to native brook trout. This property protects water quality, wildlife habitat, and forest health.
Passive recreation for the public, however, remained out of reach for decades. As a landlocked property, Sibley Conservation Area could not be visited by the public until now. Through a collaborative effort with the Town of Westminster to conserve and build trails on the adjacent Phillips Brook Conservation Area, North County Land Trust (NCLT) was able to create trails and provide access to Sibley.
Members of the community came together to help NCLT with this project. Volunteers from the 2025 Cushing Academy Fisher Day of Service and from the 2026 United Way Day of Caring worked side-by-side with NCLT volunteers and staff members to establish a trail system and install trail signs and markers.
Following the grand opening on July 15th, visitors can now enter Sibley Conservation Area via the Phillips Brook Conservation Area trailhead. The Sibley trail network begins 0.3 miles from the Phillips Brook parking area, after crossing over the stone wall that separates the two properties.
Thanks to the shared commitment of local partners, volunteers, and the NCLT team, visitors can explore Sibley’s forested paths, whether walking down to the banks of Phillips Brook on the Deer Run trail or up to the hemlock grove at the top of the Lichen Lane loop.