Site Details
Total area: 282 acres
Year Protected: 2025
Address: To be announced after signage and trail marking is complete.
Parking: Limited parking is available at the trailhead.
Total Length of Trails: Approximately 2.5-kilometer trail loop. From Chatson Woods, hikers can also carry on to the remainder of the Rose Hill Nature Reserve along the Pumpkin Trail.
Terrain/Accessibility: Foot travel only, protect the trails. The trail is a wide and relatively flat loop, suitable for hiking or snowshoeing. No ATVs, snowmobiles, or other motorized vehicle use is permitted.
Dogs: Permitted. Must be kept on a leash and waste must be picked up and removed.
Garbage: Please carry out what you carry in.
iNaturalist: MMLT encourages you to submit your plant and wildlife observations at Chatson Woods to iNaturalist. The link is coming soon!
Safety: Be aware of potential hazards, such as bears, ticks, noxious plants like poison ivy, and the possibility of no cell service in the area. Please take proper safety measures when hiking.
History
For 132 years, the Chatson family owned this property, cultivating a legacy of three generations devoted to the land and their community. It was first purchased in 1893 by Oscar Chatson, one of 11 children of Francis Chatson (Shatzen) and his wife Bertha (nee Stein). They were first generation Canadians who emigrated from Silesia, Germany in the 1860’s. They met and married in Napanee, moving north to Denbigh in 1872.
Oscar Chatson married his neighbour, Ellie Youmans, and together they built a life on the property, raising three sons. For nearly two decades, the family tended the land and contributed to the local community before relocating closer to Denbigh in 1913. In 1942, the property then passed to their son, Herbert, and his wife, Alice (nee Hughes), who continued the family legacy.
In 1989, Herbert and Alice’s son, Francis, inherited the property alongside his wife, Tony (Antonia Jane Clifton), as joint tenants. Francis’ passing in 2014 left the property solely in the hands of Tony, who carried on the family’s connection to the land.
For more than a century, the Chatson family wasn’t just tied to this property but also to the heart of the community itself. Through their involvement in local social and civic affairs, all three generations left a legacy of resilience, service, and community spirit that endures to this day.
Nature Highlights
Chatson Woods at Rose Hill Nature Reserve welcomes the public and educational groups for low-impact activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, and nature education. A loop trail provides access to this distinctive property, which blends shared features of the Reserve (forests, ponds, and wetlands) with striking geological and ecological diversity.
Once a glacial spillway, the property showcases stratified sand and gravel deposits towering over 25 feet high. At its southern edge, organic-rich soils reflect the influence of a former glacial lake. The bedrock consists of Grenville Marble, flanked by gneiss hills that drop 200 feet to the valley floor. The southeastern hill features rock barrens, cliffs reaching 20 feet, and scattered glacial erratics, remnants of the property’s glacial past.
Copeland Creek, a headwater of the Madawaska River, flows the length of the property beneath a canopy of mature Eastern White Cedars. Carving deeply into the marble bedrock in spots, the creek provides habitat for plants thriving in calcareous soils, a contrast to the acidic communities of the surrounding Precambrian Shield. It also acts as a vital corridor for wildlife.
The southwest corner features a 20-acre wetland along Copeland Creek, bordered by steep forested slopes. Additional smaller wetlands and a portion of a large pond extending beyond the property’s border further enhance its ecological significance.
With the owner’s permission, species inventories specific to Chatson Woods began in the fall of 2024. In a short timeframe, 173 species of flora and fauna were documented. Highlights include 10 fern species—among them some uncommon varieties like crested wood fern, bulblet fern, and eastern American marsh fern. Surveyors also identified multiple species of oyster mushrooms and other rare fungi, along with abundant signs of large fauna and active predators, including bear, fox, moose, deer, and hawk. Further species identification efforts are planned to continue throughout 2025
Photo Gallery
