Access: The properties, part of a larger system of trails known as the River to Ridgetop Preserves, are on the north side of Mount Archer Road. The Pleasant Valley and Jewett Preserves may be accessed from a pull-in parking lot on MacIntosh Road, about ¼ mile from the intersection of CT-156 and Beaver Brook Road. The Jewett Preserve can also be accessed from the cemetery parking lot on the north side of Mount Archer Road, about 1.25 miles from the intersection of Mount Archer Road and CT-156 and 1/4 mile from the intersection of Brush Hill and Tantumorantum Roads. One can also park in the Mount Archer Woods parking lot on the south side of Mount Archer Road. The Johnston Preserve parking lot is on the south side of CT-82, about 2 miles from the intersection of CT-82 and CT-156, and 1.5 miles from Hadlyme 4-corners. 

Features: From river to ridgetop, the preserved properties protect valuable watershed land. The majority of the three properties protects the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Watershed, with the western edge in the Joshua Creek watershed. The wetland headwaters from the highest point in Lyme in Johnston Preserve flow southeast to join streams in the preserved lands. Along the way, the water nourishes and is filtered by the land until it joins the pristine waters of the Eightmile River in Pleasant Valley Preserve. With a variety of habitats, the preserves are part of a valuable wildlife corridor of about 1,700 acres in combination with surrounding properties. This corridor supports many bird and wildlife species, some of concern because of habitat loss elsewhere. There are fascinating geologic features, from deep hollows to ridges, with dramatic outcroppings of rock and ledge. Stone walls and red cedar groves attest to past agricultural activity.

The AllTrails website has a map and description of a hike at the River to Ridgetop Preserves.