The Pine Creek marshes occupy much of the central part of Fairfield's coastal area, south of the Post Road. While the Conservation Commission has designated a number of open space areas in the Pine Creek watershed and estuary, for the purpose of the Trails Guide we’ve grouped two of them together (encompassing about 110 acres), and we’re calling them the “Pine Creek Open Space Areas.” We’ve done so because the two areas provide the best opportunities for walking and hiking on the Salt Marsh Trail that winds through the estuary.

The principal point of access to the open space areas is through the Town’s Pine Creek Recreation Area on Old Dam Road. Driving east on Old Dam Road, turn left just before the Kiwanis baseball field and proceed straight ahead to the gated entrance to the open space areas. There’s plenty of parking here.

Another access point is behind the Fairfield Senior Center which is located on Mona Terrace, south of Old Field Road. There’s parking at the Senior Center.

There are also pedestrian access points from Oldfield Road, the cul-de-sac at the end of Salt Meadow Road, and two points along Old Dam Road. No designated parking is available at these locations.

The marshes are ecological systems with high biological productivity; nutrients stored and recycled within them provide the foundation of the estuarine food chain. The dead leaves and stems of marsh plants enter the water, are broken down by micro-organisms, and become food for fiddler crabs, worms, snails, finfish, and shellfish. The marshes provide nesting, feeding, and refuge areas for shorebirds and wildlife communities; they store floodwater, stabilize the shoreline, and act as buffers against wave energy.

The Pine Creek estuary today contains one of the largest tidal wetland areas in the state. Saltwater cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and salt-meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) have repopulated much of the restored areas; large populations of marsh fiddler crabs and ribbed mussels have returned; and there are new populations of juvenile shellfish. The original populations of breeding fish, birds, and diamondback terrapins have not been completely restored, however, because the habitat requirements of these wildlife populations included not only wetlands but also adjacent upland areas that have since been filled, graded, dredged, or oth­erwise altered.