Babies Bob Down the Bantam River for “Tiny Trekking”
Kelly Orr leads a free, one-hour paddle at a child’s pace, watching for beavers, herons, and turtles.
Friday, October 9, 2–3pm | Litchfield, CT
White Memorial Conservation Center takes its Tiny Trekking program onto the water on Friday, with Kelly Orr leading a family paddle on the Bantam River. Tiny Trekking is the center’s hands-on outdoor series for children from newborns to age 5.
Participants bring their own kayaks or canoes and snacks and meet at the boat launch off Whites Woods Road, at the bridge south of the Bissell Road intersection. The group is hoping to see beavers, herons, turtles, and other wildlife. Life jackets are required and must be worn for the whole paddle. Anyone without a boat can rent one from Litchfield Paddle. The program is free, with a $5 per family donation suggested.
The Bantam River winds through marshland the foundation protects before it empties into Bantam Lake, Connecticut’s largest natural lake. The river is a popular paddling route. Boaters launch from the Whites Woods Road bridge and typically head north toward the pond, then turn around and go back south toward the lake. White Memorial owns about 4,000 acres in Litchfield and Morris. Siblings Alain and May White created it in 1913 to protect the land around Bantam Lake from development.
Boat launch off Whites Woods Road, Litchfield, CT. Registration at whitememorialcc.org.
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After a decade of writing for RI (along with many other publications and organizations) Jamie took over as editor in 2025. He has a masters in journalism from NYU, a wonderful wife, two kids and a Carolina dog named Zelda.
