Turn R just past large red barn on R, onto Moose Mountain Lodge Road (not marked)
Drive 0.8 miles to top of road. Park at the marked trailhead parking area just past the beaver dam.
What You Should Know
Foot travel only. Dogs welcome if under close control.
Bring binoculars and bird book for viewing waterfowl on Mill Pond and exploring distant views.
This hike celebrates the nearly half-century history of Moose Mountain Lodge’s stewardship by the Shumway Family and explores the wild ridge of the mountain on trails they maintained. We will view the Lodge from an overlook; please note that the Lodge is privately owned.
The route visits part of a 3,800-acre block of protected higher-elevation wildlife habitat on Moose Mountain.
The hike ends with an optional visit to protected 18th century mill ruins on the steep mountainside.
Hiking Directions
Begin your hike at the sign reading, “Mill Pond Forest & Huggins Trail Access.” To forever ensure public access to the network of trails you’ll be exploring, the Shumway and Huggins families donated conservation easements on this area to the Hanover Conservancy in 2016.
Cross a small drainage and note the series of small beaver ponds at L. By late 2017, the beavers left after many years of entertaining their neighbors with sightings of cruising kits and evening tail slaps on the water, as well as plugged culverts and “free-range forestry.” It will be interesting to see what happens to the ponds as they adjust to the lack of diligent management by these aquatic engineers.
Arrive at the first trail junction and bear L. Within 15 paces look for a cellar hole at L. This was the high-elevation c. 1800 home of miller David Woodward, who built the dam on Mill Pond and an impressive sawmill and gristmill on the steep falls of Mink Brook below where you left your car (optional visit at end of this hike). Woodward’s house was probably larger than the modest cellar hole, which, in the days of hand digging, must have presented a challenge to build.
Mill Pond beavers; photo by Kay ShumwayContinue on the path a few minutes further to a bench at the pond shore. It’s time for a picnic, or at least to pull out the binoculars! Ten-acre Mill Pond is the highest water body in Hanover and the primary source of Mink Brook, the town’s largest stream. Set in a saddle on the mountain ridge, it may have originally been a small pond or perhaps a marsh. Around 1800, Woodward built a drylaid stone dam (just out of view at L, beyond the spruces) to raise the water level some 6-8 feet (it has since partly silted in). Beavers later took over and have been managing the pond off and on, ever since. Today, the entire shoreline remains undisturbed: Hanover Conservancy easements protect the N side with the Dana Pasture Natural Area on the S (co-owned by the Town of Hanover and a Dana heir).
Directly across the water is an impressive beaver lodge. Scan the pond’s surface for waterfowl and other birds. On the day we visited, three male mallards were holding a bachelor party at the pond.
Retrace your steps to the cellar hole and trail junction. At this time of year, violets are in bloom on the forest floor and you may spot the cheerful red of partridgeberries.
A sign for Pasture Road and a green moose mark the trail junction. Turn L; soon you’ll see the old stone wall marking this Class VI road. Where Pasture Road once met Moose Mountain Lodge Road is anybody’s guess – our bet is the area under the beaver dam.
Pass by the first gap in the wall, which leads to a private home, and look for a second gap marked with a sign for “Baboon Bypass” a few yards beyond the wall. This short and somewhat indistinct trail leads W toward your next destination. Blue sky appears ahead and an arrow on a barbed-wire-garbed tree directs you to swing L into an opening.
Arriving in an old pasture (first of three), leave the path and head through low brambles and blueberry bushes toward a big pine and two old fence posts. It seems all of central and southern Vermont is spread before you, with sharp-peaked Killington presiding. Today’s highlight is in the foreground, however. Just below the brow of this field stands Moose Mountain Lodge, an icon in the Upper Valley and legend in the ski world. We’re going to tell you all about it!
Lodge, pastures, and ski slopes, 1949Let’s start with long-time owner Kay Shumway’s recollections: “The Lodge is a big old comfortable log building perched high on the western side of Moose Mountain. It has survived 80 years of snow, sleet, ice, wind, and lightning. The weather comes across the Connecticut River Valley and sweeps up the mountain, wearing away at the log surfaces like sandpaper. Sometimes the wind gets unbearable with its relentless buffeting. We often remark that it’s almost like living on a ship at sea.”
The Leslie brothers built the lodge in 1937-38. They were identical, inseparable twins – when one came to Dartmouth, the other had to come too! Bill Robes was teaching skiing then and the boys were hooked. Robes, who married into the Dana family, he said he knew of a place where they could build a ski lodge, and the rest is history.
The Lodge opened in 1938 for downhill skiing complete with rope tows and skiing on cleared slopes below. There was even night skiing on a lighted slope, which according to Kay was not too successful. The Lodge primarily served Dartmouth, housing college guests and students’ dates. Back then skiers careened down the mountain’s sunny west slopes on wooden skis. The road up to the Lodge was part of the adventure. Most who arrived by car parked at the base of the mountain and used a crank telephone to summon the Lodge’s Ford woody station wagon for a ride up the hill.
From 1943-45, the Lodge closed as gas rationing during WWII curtailed driving for pleasure and cut off fuel for the tows. It reopened from 1946-49 but was soon empty and vandalized. In 1955, Bob Jones bought the abandoned Lodge and nearby cottage as a boys’ summer camp. Camp Moose Hi ran for three years until Agnar and Anah Pytte bought the Lodge and Elisha and Anne Huggins the nearby cottage. John and Mary Clarke acquired the Lodge in 1972, turning it back into an inn for cross-country skiers and cutting some of trails we still enjoy today.
The Lodge in 1975Three years later, Peter and Kay Shumway visited in a snowstorm. At the time, Peter was in the lumber business in New York and Kay taught in a Head Start program. Peter’s father had been a ski jumper at Dartmouth (Class of 1913) and when he and some friends skied the 25 miles to Mt. Moosilauke, people would stop them and ask what they had on their feet. The Shumways happily bought the Lodge and it continued to host in the back country skiing tradition.
The Shumways welcomed guests for the next 35 years, retiring in 2011. Kay recalls, “Inn-keeping on our beautiful mountain allowed us to live in this peaceful place in isolation while still meeting interesting people.”
In 1985, the Shumways purchased a 313-acre mountain tract just N of the Lodge to keep it from being developed. Their forester, John O’Brien, helped them return its forest to health after prior heavy logging, always with an eye to ski trail potential. In 2017, these public-spirited landowners conveyed a permanent conservation easement on the Shumway Forest to the Hanover Conservancy, protecting public trail access and high elevation wildlife habitat forever. We celebrated with the entire Moose Mountain Lodge family and many friends on a sunny Saturday in July.
Peter and Kay Shumway after signing the Shumway Forest conservation easement, June 2017We can’t bring you inside the Lodge on this tour, but take it from us – it’s even more wonderful than you imagine. Log ceiling beams, a sunny comfortable living room filled with rustic handmade log furniture, Kay’s baby grand piano, and drifts of hand-dyed wool for her spinning projects surround a huge cobblestone fireplace that features a granite millstone above the hearth (more on that later). The dining room spans the NW side, with another fireplace and a handmade dining table so long you can just imagine hungry guests gathering around it after a great day on skis. Behind is an efficient yet delightfully old-fashioned kitchen with everything close at hand, including Kay’s own Moose Mountain Lodge recipe book. On the N side is the ski shop with rows of skis hanging from a rack, ready for waxing. A welcoming porch spans the entire W side, with log settees beckoning you to relax and take in the breathtaking view and spectacular sunsets. Head upstairs under the watchful eyes of a mounted moose head to a warren of cozy guest rooms with log beds, some made by Kay and Peter themselves. Down the hill are a large fenced vegetable garden, goat shed (Kay kept Angora goats for their fleece), and small sugarhouse.
Now it’s time to enjoy some of the trails the Shumways and their former neighbor, Elisha Huggins, long maintained. Return to the path and continue uphill to a second, smaller clearing adorned by white birches. Follow the path back into the woods, guided by small wooden arrows. Soon you’ll arrive at a third pasture, the largest of all. Head uphill toward a moose sign with orange highlights posted on a birch.
These pastures, occasional clumps of juniper, and the fragments of barbed wire on fence posts recall the land’s history as the Dana Farm’s summering grazing grounds. The Dana family farmed this area since the late 1800s. Today, the red barn still stands on the E side of Old Dana Road and the early white farmhouse migrated from its original site across the way to the hilltop above. Into the 1960s, the family drove their cattle up the mountainside to graze here during the summer. After grazing stopped, Elisha Huggins kept the pastures open for skiing and views, using a hand scythe!
A low stone wall among the birches marks the boundary with private land. Continue S toward a large ash bearing an arrow pointing R. After a short downhill, another arrow + moose sign directs you to turn L. Take the path through the woods a short distance to a trail junction.
A sign at R, parallel to the trail, indicates the Orange Diamond Ridge Trail. Bear R and up a short steep section to a mossy ledge.
Ten minutes’ walk from the last pasture, you arrive at the first of two open ledges and views open up to the E. Keep an eye on kids and dogs. A small cairn on the far side marks the trail’s return to the woods.
Here, the Ridge Trail follows the boundary of two privately owned parcels – to the E is the Baum Conservation Area, owned by a local Dartmouth alumnus with a keen interest in trails and conservation. Pass a nice colony of the small but stoic rock polypody fern.
Five minutes from the first ledge, arrive at the second, larger ledge, today’s turn-around point. Time to corral kids and dogs and pull up a stony seat among the lowbush blueberries to drink in the view (and some water). At 1 o’clock is the bony knob of Mt. Cardigan. If you stand on the highest part of the ledge, you can see distant Mount Washington at 11 o’clock.
At 10 o’clock, the ridge of Moose Mountain stretches N beyond the communications tower. From here, you get a fine view of the mountain’s E profile and realize that, like Holt’s Ledge and so many others in New England, it is a roche moutonnee or sheepback, shaped by the passing of the glacier. The glacier abraded the NW side and plucked rocks from the opposite slope as it ground its way from NW to SE. In this view, dark patches of evergreens to the R of the tower mark the steep SE side.
To return, pink tape on a tree helps you locate the trail back. It becomes clear you’re hiking the very spine of this mountain, with the Mascoma River valley off at R and Mink Brook valley at L.
Returning to the first ledge, admire the view of Cardigan before continuing on, following a blue arrow.
At the trail junction, yellow signs point R to the Baum Conservation Area (to explore another day). You turn L to retrace your steps toward the pastures.
At a bent yellow birch, a sign at L directs you to turn R; shortly after you’ll turn L at another arrow. Soon you’re back to the birches and the upper Dana pasture. In June, white five-petaled strawberry flowers decorate the ground under your feet.
Continue gently downhill to the last pasture, above the Lodge. See if you can spot the white hamlet of Hanover Center in the distance, over the Lodge roof to the R. You can see why this village never fulfilled its intended destiny as the hub of Hanover – it’s on a hilltop and there’s no running water!
Take the path back into the woods – avoid the trail that comes in at L from a private home – and return to Pasture Road. Turn L past the stone wall and then L again at the junction by the cellar hole. Ten minutes from the Lodge overlook, you’re back at your car.
Optional Mill Site Visit (10 minutes)
Hidden in the woods are remains of a late 1700s saw and grist mill. They are very close by but invisible unless you make the short scramble through the woods to see them.
Walk back down Moose Mountain Lodge Road to a telephone pole opposite the gated entrance to the tower right of way. Turn L and bushwhack back the short way to the stream. You’ll soon pick up an old cart path on the near side. Take this down along the brook, admiring the cascades, to a series of angular piles of rock. Towers rise on either side of the brook. More can be seen farther downstream.
We marvel at how David Woodward managed to build these structures in such a steep ravine around 1800, his only tools likely being a pair of sturdy oxen, ropes, a chisel, and a native understanding of physics. In his 1982 anthropology paper, Dartmouth student Tom Slocum suggests that Woodward used the cubic
blocks of native schist to build an undershot-type mill that most likely functioned to saw wood and grind grain. Water stored in the pond above could be released to provide enough flow to operate the mill. At some point in its history, the mill operated only during the spring freshet and only as a sawmill.
The 1930s builders of Moose Mountain Lodge found their fireplace ornament here amid the ruins of Woodward’s mills. These historic sites are now specifically protected from further disturbance by the Hanover Conservancy’s Mill Pond Forest conservation easement.
Continue down the brook-side cart path to the last set of ruins. The path appears to end here; retrace your steps to return to your car.
Arrange with a friend to leave a car at the hike’s end OR give yourself time to hike back to your car.
Car drop: from downtown Hanover and the Green, take E. Wheelock Street east up the hill; continue as it becomes Trescott Road. Turn L onto Etna Road. Drive through Etna village, pass a cemetery on L, and turn L onto Dogford Road. Follow as it turns sharply R past a farm pond; turn L into the Trescott parking area. To reach the start point, return to Trescott Road and turn R onto Grasse Road. Follow as it turns L and heads down the hill. Stay R for Storrs Pond and Oak Hill. Park at the Oak Hill parking area at R.
Starting point for a round trip hike: from downtown Hanover and the Green, take the Wolfeboro Road (known today as College Street) north through campus past the medical school. At the Dewey Field light, stay straight to join Lyme Road. Drive past the golf course to the rotary and bear R onto Reservoir Road (still on the old Wolfeboro Road route). Turn sharply L toward Storrs Pond and Oak Hill as the road enters the woods. Park at the Oak Hill parking area at R.
What You Should Know
Welcome to your water source! Most of this hike crosses the Trescott Water Supply Lands. Drinking water for much of Hanover and for Dartmouth College comes from this area, so special rules apply for visitors.
Dogs are welcome but must always be leashed; please pick up after your pet.
You may encounter forestry vehicles; they have the right of way.
Hiking times are approximate. Plan on 2 hours; longer if you plan to spend time enjoying the views.
Hiking Directions
Begin your hike by walking back up the lane to a path entrance between the white Storrs Pond sign and the green street sign for Reservoir Road. Five steps in, and you’re on the clearly discernable, original route of the Wolfeboro Road. Our forebears chose a good path – it is safely out of the way of Camp Brook, which washed out Reservoir Road a few years back.
Walk up through the hemlocks that shade the valley of this brook. You can imagine the relief of Royal Governor Wentworth, after several days’ ride on the new road, making his final descent toward his destination, Dartmouth College’s second commencement in 1772. In hopes of making it to the first one, Governor Wentworth ordered the cutting of the Wolfeboro Road, from his home in Wolfeborough across to Hanover, in 1770. At a public meeting on July 30 of that year, a committee of Hanover citizens was appointed to “…run a line from near the southwest corner of Hanover to the Great Pond, or Governor’s seat, at Wolfeborough, and view the situation of the land and convenience for a highway, and make return the first Monday in October next.” Members were paid four shillings and sixpence per day (Hanover Center’s Jonathan Freeman earned six shillings and sixpence/day as surveyor) and spent ten days surveying the route. In October, they gained approval to lay it out from the College to the Canaan line. Hanover landowners were assessed a penny and a half per acre to raise the 120£ needed to complete the road.
John WentworthRoyal Governor John Wentworth, appointed in 1766 by King George III to take over management of the colony of New Hampshire from his infamous uncle Benning, helped Eleazar Wheelock secure the charter for Dartmouth College. Here he appears as quite the dandy, but indeed he was an eager outdoorsman and leapt at any chance to go camping and rusticating in his colony’s abundant wilderness. While he was on the trail happily getting dirty and sleeping on the ground, his wife was fixated on having a fancy ballroom at their country estate in Wolfeborough.
In about a half mile, just as the road starts gently downhill, look R for a trail coming in from Reservoir Road where it joins Grasse Road. If you want to return to this side of the Trescott lands, you can park at the ball field near the water filtration plant and take this path over a foot bridge.
You are near the foot of Fletcher Reservoir, first of two impoundments built on Camp Brook to provide water to downtown Hanover and Dartmouth College. This reservoir flooded a section of the Wolfeboro Road, so we will bear L and head uphill to avoid this section and the protected area around it. Because the public is not permitted within 250 feet of the waters, we’ll have to take a few side trails, but these are not without their delights!
After six minutes’ walk from the trail junction, a mowed ski trail comes in from the L. A few yards further, look closely for the turn to the R as the ski trail veers off to the L – your goal is a sign, posted a short way into the woods at the Trescott Lands boundary. Time to leash your dog, if your pup is along for the hike.
This trail takes you over an old woods road and soon, a newly built bridge over an intermittent stream. The trail is marked in most places with flagging and is well trodden, following the contour of Stone Hill (more about Stone – a person, not a geological feature – in a moment). Side trails built by mountain bikers come in at L in several places; avoid these and stay on the generally straight path.
Soon, you’ll see a stone wall ahead. Head for the break in the wall and emerge from the forest to a vantage point. This unusual view of Velvet Rocks, with the waters of Fletcher Reservoir at R, is your reward for the detour off the old road.
Head downhill, following stakes in the open field, to rejoin the Wolfeboro Road at a well-marked opening in the trees. Look R to see where the old road went west, and turn L to resume your pilgrimage. Red boundary signs on the R and orange blazes on trees indicate the reservoir buffer, not open to the public (or dogs hoping for a swim).
Walking on the old road is easy and grades are gentle. Keep your eyes out for the cellar hole at L of the old Stone Farm, on a small rise (double circle on the map). Plans to dam Camp Brook meant that farmers in its watershed would be displaced. In 1893, Dartmouth College simply swapped farms with Charles Stone. It’s said that he milked his cows here in the morning of the move, then herded his cows down the Wolfeboro Road and through downtown Hanover, and installed them in their new barn near Mink Brook just south of town, where he milked them that evening.
Continue east on the Wolfeboro Road to Mason’s Four Corners. Now a log landing, the Four Corners was once a major intersection where the Wolfeboro Road crosses the more recent Knapp Road. Look for a sign posted on a tree opposite, confirming your location.
Knapp Road was laid out Nov. 13, 1793, named for Lt. Peter Knapp of Hanover’s Revolutionary War-era militia. The cellar hole of his homestead is on the northeast corner of this intersection. By 1855, J. J. Mason lived here, followed by Charles Mason by 1892. The 160-acre Mason Farm had a 100-tree apple orchard and 200-tree sugarbush. Mason also kept 12 dairy cows and 70 Merino sheep. In the days before the Civil War, Hanover was one of the four top sheep towns in New Hampshire (after Walpole, Lyme, and Lebanon). The water company purchased Mason’s farm by 1903 for $4000.
At the NW corner of this intersection stood the one-room District #4 schoolhouse (1807). Look for an interpretive sign here for more about these historic sites.
The Wolfeboro Road was probably only the second road in Hanover not only to be properly laid out but also to be mapped and recorded. Like many early roads, over the years its location has shifted, with and without the benefit of surveys and deeds. The entire road remained in use through the 19th century until construction of Fletcher Reservoir in 1893 interrupted its path.
As a member of Dartmouth’s new Board of Trustees, Wentworth hoped to cross it for the first commencement of four students in 1771, but not all the communities in its path felt obliged to cooperate in its construction (except Hanover, of course!). It wasn’t ready for another year, and was still just a rough trace, not a “road” as we imagine it. In 1771 the governor ended up going by way of Haverhill.
The Wolfeboro Road continues E, still marked by old sugar maples but obscured by brush. Here again, we must take a detour to avoid the reservoir buffer, this time for the Parker Reservoir. After imagining the busy neighborhood that once existed here, continue up Knapp Road, itself lined with stately old maples and stone walls. In a few minutes you’ll notice another sign at R for the trail to Dogford Road. Turn R here.
The hillsides beyond are partly open and are being replanted. These lands experienced major blowdowns during the 2007 Patriot’s Day Windstorm. Two million board feet of logs and 3,100 cords of pulp were salvaged. This storm hit heaviest in the plantations, leaving natural stands largely unaffected. The forest management plan calls for creating more natural, uneven-aged stands rather than even-aged plantations.
Catch glimpses of Parker Reservoir as the trail turns SE to rejoin the old Wolfeboro Road after a short dip.
Back to Royal Governor John Wentworth – he visited Hanover for the third and last time in 1773, once again for the College’s commencement exercises, presumably traveling over his new highway. He was not able to attend in 1774, and by the summer of 1775 he had fled New Hampshire after war broke out with Great Britain.
Back to the mundane – is your dog still on its leash? Give yourself a gold star and know that there are porcupines nearby.
Turn L, uphill, returning to the old road. It climbs gently but steadily, and stone walls become more impressive. You’re seeing the handiwork of one Wright, who owned the farm at the final cellar hole we will visit today. He was there in 1855; by 1892, J.W. and W.D. Chandler had taken over his farm. As the gate and Dogford Road come into view, look for the cellar hole at L – it’s the largest yet. Find the threshold stone and admire the drylaid stonework, all done without benefit of power machinery.
From here, you have a choice. If you dropped your car at the Dogford Road parking lot, head N on the light trail that leads from the cellar hole and parallels the road for the short distance to the lot. You can also continue by foot, or in your car, along the route of the Wolfeboro Road by following Dogford Road straight E to where it turns just past an historic farmhouse at L.
If you are feeling adventurous, have 15 minutes, and seek the very best Wolfeboro Road experience of all, park on the shoulder of Dogford Road at the turn (there is room for one carefully parked car) and proceed on foot up the old road as it continues as a Class VI road through a pasture.
Note the cattle fence, which is electrified. Grasp the gray plastic handle to cross the fence – carefully – and immediately replace the handle behind you. This is the home of Scottish Highlander cattle, but the public is still allowed on the old road, which is easily distinguished by the early stone walls and towering maples that line it. You’ll pass pieces of antique farming equipment and sap buckets along the way. Step carefully (for obvious reasons) and do not approach the long-horned cattle if you encounter them.
Proceed, if cattle and other conditions allow, to the crest of the hill. From here, you can see the path of the old Wolfeboro Road as it continues down into a little valley and then up the other side.
Stop here – this is the one section of the Wolfeboro Road that is no longer a public way, due to town meeting action in the 1980s, when a single vote sealed the road’s fate. The road is closed from a small bridge at the end of Elm Road until it joins Hanover Center Road. Yet the Wolfeboro Road, a beautiful scenic and recreational asset for Hanover, remains an important historical reminder of the early regional vision and political leadership that was to benefit the entire region.
Turn back toward Dogford Road and enjoy the most beautiful view of all – Velvet Rocks and the lush farm landscapes that seem not to have changed since the early 19th century.
From the traffic light at Route 120 and Greensboro Road, turn east on Greensboro Road.
After 0.4 miles, turn left onto Velvet Rocks Drive.
Proceed up the hill to the parking area at the road’s end.
What You Should Know
Foot travel only, except on the Silent Brook Trail where bikes are allowed. Dogs are welcome but must be under close control; please pick up after your pet. Be aware that this Natural Area is prime porcupine habitat!
The trails are blazed in colors matching the trail map: blue for Oli’s Eagle Trail, white for the Appalachian Trail, and light orange for the Greensboro Highlands Trail. The wider Silent Brook Trail is not blazed but is easy to follow.
The Hanover Conservancy owns and manages the Greensboro Ridge Natural Area. The Town of Hanover holds a conservation easement on the land. After a housing development was proposed for this entire forested hillside, the Hanover Conservancy and Town worked with the developer to cluster homes close to the road and conserve the remaining acreage. The Conservancy acquired the land in 2008, protecting valuable wildlife habitat, a scenic backdrop, and a wonderful natural area with trails for the new Velvet Rocks and Silent Brook neighborhoods and the greater community to enjoy.
Brief Directions
Take Oli’s Eagle Trail north from the trailhead kiosk to the junction with the Appalachian Trail.
Retrace your steps a short distance to turn L onto the Greensboro Highlands Trail.
Follow this down to a T with the Silent Brook Trail.
Turn R to return to your car.
Full Hiking Directions
Take a moment to check the trailhead kiosk display and map. We are grateful to Trumbull-Nelson for the gift of this beautifully hand-crafted kiosk.
Oli’s Eagle Trail begins just to the L of the kiosk, heading up through a narrow rocky cleft. The contrast between this rough terrain and that tamed for the Velvet Rocks development is dramatic.
This trail was built in 2008 by Oliver Simpson for his Eagle Scout project with help from the Hanover Conservation Commission’s Trails Committee.
In early June, the foliage of purple trillium is still apparent near the trail entrance, although here at the warmer, lower end of the trail, the wildflowers may have gone by.
You’ll soon reach an open expanse of unfurling ferns, primarily the sweetly fragrant Hay-Scented Fern. Watch your footing here. This opening was cleared from the forest as a demonstration house site before the land was protected. It will be kept open to provide habitat variety for wildlife.
Heading back into the woods, you can hear the gurgle of a small stream as the trail curves gently to the right. Fisher and mink inhabit this area. The Natural Area is located in the Mink Brook watershed; protecting this land helps keep the waters of Mink Brook cool, clear, and comfortable for wild brook trout.
Eight minutes from your car, you’ll begin climbing the ridge. Follow the blazed trail as it crosses a tiny drainage and winds up through a narrow cleft in the rocky ledges.
By 18 minutes’ hike from your car, you’ll notice the rise in elevation and cooler forest conditions. The trillium has noticed it too, and may be still in bloom along the trail (photo L).
A few minutes later, you might notice the work of pileated woodpeckers on an old tree on the L side of the trail.
At 22 minutes from your car, you’ll reach the junction with the Greensboro Highlands Trail, marked with a wooden sign. You’ll soon return to this junction but now continue straight on Oli’s Trail for a minute or two to reach the white-blazed Appalachian Trail. The AT actually dips off federal land and onto Hanover Conservancy property for a short distance. At that junction, you could turn R to head to Etna or Mt. Katahdin in Maine or L for Velvet Rocks, downtown Hanover, or if you’re really ambitious, Springer Mountain in Georgia.
Instead, turn around and retrace your steps for a short distance on Oli’s Trail, turning L onto the Greensboro Highlands Trail to continue your hike. The Hanover Conservancy, with help from the Upper Valley Trails Alliance and a team from Hypertherm, built the Greensboro Highlands Trail in 2012 to create this loop.
25 minutes from your car, you’ll note a fragment of stone wall at L, a reminder that this heavily forested land was once an open sheep pasture.
In 2 more minutes, a fun photo opportunity appears on the right, where an old branch collar on a dead snag forms the perfect frame (R). Friends can take a photo of faces looking through it to post on our Facebook page!
Black bear make their home here, and it’s easy to find bear claw marks on the smooth bark of beech trees, evidence of a bear seeking tasty beechnuts.
32 minutes into your hike, the trail winds to the R around a ledge featuring a huge and handsome vein of white quartz.
In another 2 minutes, see if you can spot the guardian of this forest. This “face” on a tree (photo L) appears on the L side of the trail.
38 minutes into your hike, the trail splits around a large boulder, then a few yards later turns somewhat sharply L. There are a lot of well- worn game trails here and it would be easy to follow one if you were looking at the ground- be sure to look for the orange blazes!
Look carefully for signs of one of the Natural Area’s hidden gems –its 8 vernal pools. These usually ephemeral wetlands are essential breeding habitat for salamanders and frogs, as they are free of fishy predators. (Please keep your dog from cooling off here.)
At 45 minutes, another stone wall appears at L, marking the HC boundary. A wetland is visible just behind it as you near the trail junction for Silent Brook.
48 minutes into your hike, you’ll reach the Silent Brook Trail. This trail, designed to link the Silent Brook and Velvet Rocks neighborhoods, is open to bicycles. If you turn L, you’ll reach the Silent Brook neighborhood in less than 5 minutes. To return to your car in just a few more, turn R onto the Silent Brook Trail.
Cross a small drainage on a footbridge and enter another ferny opening. Here, white pines are doing what they do naturally – reclaiming old openings – and volunteers are working to keep this area, another demonstration house site, open for wildlife.
The trail drops steeply and crosses another small wooden bridge before returning to your car and the parking lot at the end of Velvet Rocks Drive.
Note: The Hanover Conservancy is seeking volunteers to advise us on managing the Natural Area, monitor trails, and help out with very occasional work parties. We also warmly welcome donations to our Land Stewardship Fund to help maintain the Natural Area. More info about the Natural Area can be found here.
Five minutes from the first ledge, arrive at the second, larger ledge, today’s turn-around point. Time to corral kids and dogs and pull up a stony seat among the lowbush blueberries to drink in the view (and some water). At 1 o’clock is the bony knob of Mt. Cardigan. If you stand on the highest part of the ledge, you can see distant Mount Washington at 11 o’clock.
Hidden in the woods are remains of a late 1700s saw and grist mill. They are very close by but invisible unless you make the short scramble through the woods to see them.
Welcome to your water source! Most of this hike crosses the Trescott Water Supply Lands. Drinking water for much of Hanover and for Dartmouth College comes from this area, so special rules apply for visitors.
