Last Saturday I led a hike in the Mulvihill Preserve.  This is one of the prettiest trails on the East End. We met along the shoulder of Brick Kiln Road, 0.3-mile north of the intersection with Scuttle Hole Road.  To find the entrance to the trail, look for a black on yellow road-sign, or look across the road for the Bridge Hill Lane intersection.  There is no formal parking area, there is no sign at the trailhead, and there is no warning for motorists to slow down for hikers.

There is another access point for the Mullvihill Loop Trail, further north on Brick Kiln Road, via the Paumanok Path.  Park by the triangle formed at the intersection of Brick Kiln and Stony Hill Road.  Walk south on Brick Kiln Road; look for white rectangular blazes on the left side of the road; follow the Paumanok Path to the yellow owl loop.  Again, parking is very awkward here and it is hard to see the trail from the road. If you are coming from the east, it is helpful to know that you can take Lumber Lane to Scuttle Hole Road to get to Brick Kiln Road.

The Mulvihill Trail is well blazed, and the trail tread is spongy.  The more southerly entrance takes you along a laurel filled corridor, across a power line right-of-way, up a rise that looks out over a pond, and over a bridge crossing a brook, to the Loop Trail. Watch your step, there are stumps and roots of laurel.  The loop trail is marked with plastic blazes; yellow owls on a white background.  At one time the loop was two trails, a segment of a yellow trail and a black trail.  Hikers found this confusing, so it was changed to the yellow loop trail.

Where the access trail meets the loop trail, there needs to be a sign showing that the access trail leads back to the “Brick Kiln Road trailhead.” Two “Loop” signs are needed, one pointing straight ahead and one pointing to the left.  A “Privately Owned Land” sign is needed pointing to the right. I usually start the loop by turning left and walking along the edge of the pond.  The trail takes you over several steep knobs, with kettlehole ponds nestled in-between.  The northern section of the loop shares the trail with the Paumanok Path.  It is here that trail ascends a high knoll into a grove of mature white pines.