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  • Conserve Your Land

South Esker

The South Esker offers a great view of the Connecticut River

We are working with our Town partner, the Hanover Conservation Commission, to permanently protect the South Esker, a 14-acre forest on the Connecticut River at Hanover’s southwest corner.  The Town has owned the land since 1971, when we helped purchase the parcel. Towering forests laced with trails offer a cool summer retreat near the river, in a place marked by the passage of the glacier.


A Network of Natural Lands Near Downtown

The South Esker is part of a mosaic of natural lands acquired through the Hanover Conservancy (then known as the Hanover Conservation Council). These include our own Mink Brook Nature Preserve (1999) and the Town’s Mink Brook Natural Area (1973) and Tanzi Tract (1967). Like these neighbors, the South Esker offers a network of well-loved public foot trails and a peaceful waterfront retreat. 

SouthEsker-w-1939-photo

They’re all an easy walk from downtown Hanover, Dartmouth College, in-town neighborhoods, and Sachem Village. Inundation of this area by Wilder Dam has changed it significantly.  At right, compare this 1939 photo of the area with the one above.

How to Get There

The well-marked trailhead is located on the drive through the Pine Knoll Cemetery, before you reach the water treatment plant. Another trailhead is located at the far end of Spencer Road, as it turns into a gravel drive. Parking for 2-3 cars is available here.

Resources

  • Trail Map

Hike of the Month Archive

  • August: The South Esker

Hanover Town Meeting voted on May 9, 2017 to approve a conservation easement on the property. Back in 1970, when land protection was a new idea in Hanover, we worked with the owner to convey his riverfront land to the Town and raised local funds to match a federal grant.  Forty years later, the practice of land conservation  has matured. It has become clear that the South Esker’s old deed restriction is not enough to keep it safe for the future, and could actually lead to legal complications for the Town, the former owner, and HC.

  • Ensure that an extra pair of hands – and second set of eyes—are focused on caring for this land
  • Enlist the Conservancy’s help to create a full natural resources study and management plan for the property and its trails
  • Protect the riverfront forest for birds and wildlife, including resting bald eagles
  • Result in a new trail map and guide.
  • Offer permanent protection at no net cost to the Town.

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New website for Great River Hydro February 1, 2021
South Esker August 1, 2016

71 Lyme Road
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 643-3433

info@hanoverconservancy.org

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