Winooski River, Salmon Hole
I chose this location because I had only ever been around the Winooski Falls Park on the opposite side of the river, but I would always see people walking down by the banks on this side. I was curious how they were getting down here, so I investigated, finding a path that comes to this spot and then continues along the riverside. This spot has more of a clearing than most of the surrounding areas, with a patch of new growth and some vegetation surrounded by more mature trees.
Directions:
- Starting at McAuley Hall (Trinity Campus)
- Walk left (north) down Colchester Avenue all the way until Riverside Avenue
- Follow the sidewalk to the left and cross Riverside Avenue
- Turn left and walk down the path past the Salmon Hole sign and then around the corner
- Follow the first dirt path that diverges off to the right and follow the small sign that says “Burlington Wildway”
- Walk through the two stone pillars and down the River Walk Trail
- Take the first steps to the right and cross both wooden bridges
- Pass the bench at the first trail and take the second trail to the right down to the water
Woody Plants!
- Eastern Cottonwood
- American Elm
- White Ash
- Silver Maple
- Ashes
- Chokecherry
- Oriental Bittersweet
- Common Buckthorn
- Basswood
- Riverbank Grape
- Sugar Maple
- American Bittersweet
I only observed deciduous trees in this area. By far, the most common woody plant I observed was Oriental bittersweet, an invasive vine from Asia that chokes out native species. I noticed the vines stunting new growth and growing all the way up mature trees. I was struggling to differentiate American and Oriental bittersweet, but I do believe there was some American bittersweet as well, which is native.
A lot of the understory is comprised of ashes, buckthorn, and chokecherry, and the most prevalent mature tree in the overstory is the Eastern cottonwood. Most of the ground cover is woody plants, but the vegetation includes mainly ferns with some grasses closer to the river.
