Trade Winds Preserve

Photo by Ralph Stewart

Keep one eye on the sky….

This 71 acre grassy oasis is a part of the Cross Town Trail and still an active landing strip.

It’s also known as the Oak Bluffs Dog Park.

Getting there: Half mile up County Road from the Oak Bluff’s Fire Station.

For more information, visit the official Land Bank Website. Also, be sure to check out their cool map.

From the Land Bank’s Page for the Preserve: Here is the classic sandplain grassland habitat, whose survival in this location was just a matter of good fortune: the land was used for decades as a grass-strip airport and the regular mowing and rolling that accompanied that use prevented the land’s succession into woodland. As a result, unusual wildflowers and grasses (bushy rockrose, purple needlegrass, sandplain blue-eyed grass, among others) flourish in this uncommon habitat. A portion of the property continues to be used as an airstrip but landings are few. Pilots are welcome to land here but must receive in advance a permission-to-land slip; details may be obtained by telephoning the Land Bank office.