Search Results for: route 120

Mink Brook Nature Preserve

This 112-acre preserve protects habitat for wild brook trout, bears, and many other creatures, while offering trails and quiet enjoyment of a peaceful place. This preserve is the result of deep generosity and community spirit. Substantial gifts from Dartmouth College and Brian and Allie Quinn, acknowledging the significance of this place to the Abenaki, joined 450 other gifts to protect the land in 1999. The Upper Valley Land Trust collaborated with our organization to purchase the land and now holds the conservation easement. The preserve links other protected lands — the Angelo Tanzi Tract and Mink Brook West, owned by the Town of Hanover, and UVLT’s brook-side parcel.

Mink Brook Nature Preserve offers a natural retreat just south of downtown Hanover. The predominant natural community is upland forest composed of white pine and hemlock. The smaller of the preserve’s two streams is Trout Brook, which winds northward to join Mink Brook. Mink Brook is a direct tributary to the Connecticut River and is affected by Wilder Dam’s activity up until just downstream of the log crossing. Many of the paths within the Preserve parallel Mink Brook and pass by pool and riffle areas of this dynamic boulder filled watercourse. The preserve has a fascinating history, and hosts black bears, wild brook trout, waterfowl, and other wildlife- not to mention a highly interesting plant community!

PLEASE NOTE THAT AS OF FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, THE LOG CROSSING IS CLOSED. The Conservancy is working on a replacement but has closed the current crossing out of an abundance of concern for public safety.

Mink Brook Guide cover — *Click the image to view guide*

Mink Brook Map
Mink Brook Map & Guide
Management Plan (2016)

How to get there

From Route 10 in Hanover, turn onto Brook Road just north of the bridge over Mink Brook. Parking is available in the pulloff by the trailhead on Brook Road. Walk through the gate to the kiosk just up the path.

Parking is also available at the Upper Valley Land Trust office at 19 Buck Road. Walk back along Buck Road towards Route 120; the trailhead is at the sharp corner in Buck Road, and is clearly marked.

Trails and Uses
Special Features
Bob Norman Overlook
History
Treasure Hunts
Wildlife
Plants

The property offers a variety of walking terrain. The easy terrain of Quinn Trail is accessible to both strollers and wheelchairs and links up with the trails in the Tanzi Tract, a preserve of the Town of Hanover. Just across Route 10, the Town-owned River Trail continues as a fully ADA-accessible path to the Connecticut River. On the south side of Mink Brook, wooded hiking trails link up with trails to preserved land in Lebanon.

The preserve is open to the public for foot travel at all seasons. Please help protect water quality in Mink Brook by picking up after your pet and removing the waste. Pets must be under the direct control of their owners and not chase wildlife. Plants should be left growing in place. Fishing is permitted; trapping and hunting are not. No fires or camping, please.

Why no bikes? – To protect an area significant to Native Americans and to maintain wildlife habitat and water quality, Mink Brook Nature Preserve was created with the understanding that trails would be open only for foot travel. A bicycle rack is provided at the Brook Road gate.

About the trails – The Quinn Trail runs along the north side of the brook and connects trails west of Route 10 with Route 120. Grades are gentle with a few moderate slopes. Across the log bridge, the Wheelock Trail heads east to Buck Road on a sometimes narrow, rocky path, and west to Route 10. The red-blazed Indian Ridge Trail and orange-blazed Sachem Connector Trail lead south into Lebanon and can be difficult to follow after leaving the preserve. In 2011, we worked with the Town to create a new footpath linking trails on the west side of Route 10 with the Quinn Trail on the Preserve. Find this link near the corner of Brook Road and Route 10, just east of the small utility building.

Spectacular Mink Brook Crossing

A dramatic single-plank suspension bridge connects the Quinn Trail with the trails on the southern portion of the property, including trails to Buck Road in Hanover, and Lebanon’s Sachem Village and Indian Ridge.

Hanover’s Largest Watershed

Mink Brook watershed outlined in red; conserved or public land in green

Mink Brook drains Hanover’s largest watershed, where the brook gathers the flow from 18 1/2 square miles. Rain and snow falling on the west slopes of Moose Mountain, the Etna valley, and Greensboro area flow through Mink Brook through the preserve to the Connecticut River. Today, much of the watershed is forested, including the preserve, but it was not always so.

Robert Z. Norman

Founder, former president, volunteer, visionary

When Hanover adopted its first town-wide master plan and zoning ordinance in 1961, it omitted a greenbelt proposed around the town’s most developed area. That very day, a few concerned citizens – Bob Norman, Carolyn Tenney, George Wrightson, Ted Hunter, and Jean Hennessey – met to form a group to see what could be done to protect those places. They were back the next year with a ballot petition for a new zone, Natural Preserve, which was readily approved by Town Meeting and now covers Pine Park and other lands later protected. This group incorporated as the Hanover Conservation Council and went on to advocate for a town conservation commission in 1966. Bob and the Council led the effort to protect key lands in Hanover – the Tanzi Tract, Balch Hill, South Esker, Connecticut River/Mink Brook confluence and more – and also in nearby towns. These included Lyme’s Wilder Wildlife Management Area, a Plainfield wildflower sanctuary, and the Grafton Pond Reservation. The Council also initiated a program of bird walks and nature hikes, helped with trail creation and maps, and helped integrate environmental education into the school science curriculum. All continue today through the Hanover Conservancy.

Bob served the Council as Secretary (1964), President (1970-75 and 1996-99), Treasurer (1975-96), and was honored as Emeritus Board Member when he stepped down in 2009. He continues as a wise and valued member of our Lands Committee. Bob received the Nan King Award for Service to the Community at the 2001 Hanover Town Meeting.

Norman Overlook at Mink Brook

In 1999, Bob led the Council’s effort to protect the 112-acre Mink Brook Nature Preserve, then slated to become a 32-lot subdivision. In 2019, the 20th anniversary of that daunting and ultimately successful project, the Conservancy dedicated the Norman Overlook to Bob and his vision for our community. The Overlook is along the Quinn Trail and looks over Mink Brook.

Celebrating the Norman Overlook’s dedication

HC Board members finish final prep on the Overlook site

Native dogwoods, serviceberry and other shrubs were planted to restore the floodplain.

Hugh Mellert works to place the dedication plaque on a granite boulder

The final step was planting native shrubs and preparing the site for the dedication ceremony

The Mink Brook Nature Preserve, along with nearby smaller parcels owned by the Town of Hanover and the Upper Valley Land Trust, share a common history with roots reaching back to the earliest days of Hanover and Dartmouth College. Royal Governor Benning Wentworth reserved 500 acres for himself when he chartered the Town of Hanover on July 4, 1761, including these lands. The offer of these lands (along with nearby acreage in both Hanover and Lebanon) later persuaded Rev. Dr. Eleazar Wheelock to choose Hanover as the site for Dartmouth College.

In the next century, the Benton family (1840 brick homestead still standing nearby) farmed the land, and it later became part of the Stone family dairy farm until 1949, when the Barrett, Ransmeier, and Granger families purchased the land. MORE

At left: Fullington’s prized Guernsey cows grazing along Mink Brook (Photo by Frank J. Barrett)

The Fullingtons – owners of the Dartmouth Dairy – pastured about 40 heifers each summer on the Barretts’ pastures along Mink Brook during the 1950s.

Explore the Mink Brook Nature Preserve through the imaginative treasure hunt that is the Mink Brook Quest, created by the ValleyQuest program of Vital Communities. Bring along a compass and field guide to help you solve the clues.

Find the geo-cache!

Fishing is permitted within the preserve; catch & release is encouraged. The Mink Brook watershed, Hanover’s largest, harbors healthy populations of wild brook trout, even in some of its smallest tributaries. Fisheries biologists from New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department, working with volunteers from Trout Unlimited, the Conservancy’s Mink Brook Stewardship Committee, and Hanover students conducted a thorough study of the Mink Brook watershed in July, 2011.

The study was part of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a region-wide effort looking at habitat for wild brook trout. At Mink Brook, biologists examined details of each section’s habitat characteristics, measured water temperature, and recorded the length, weight, and species of each fish captured. Fish were “borrowed” from the water by electro-fishing – a wand sending a weak electric current through the water temporarily stuns the fish, which can then be scooped up with a net and transferred to a bucket for study. All fish were returned to the brook after their brief examination.

Mink Brook is among the streams under study by Dartmouth for survival of young Atlantic salmon, and a number of young salmon turned up in the 2011 survey.

Mink Brook Nature Preserve is a popular destination to see wildflowers and ferns. More than 130 species of native herbaceous plants grow on the Preserve, including 20 species of ferns. Red trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, trout lily and phlox are just a few of the many species you can see here. Whether you’re an experienced botanist, learning to identify local flowers or just want to enjoy some beautiful spots, please join us for our annual Mother’s Day wildflower walk!

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Mink Brook Log Crossing Update	August 1, 2022
Mink Brook & Tanzi Tract	September 10, 2021
Storied Stones of the South Side	September 10, 2021

Advocacy

The Conservancy has helped to facilitate the conservation of over 2500 acres of land since 1961, when we were founded as the Hanover Conservation Council. We work in partnership with landowners, town government, other conservation groups, and developers to find conservation opportunities and solutions in our town. The Conservancy can protect land through ownership, conservation easement or identifying other conservation resources. We support legislation that furthers conservation and sustainability and occasionally provide public comments on issues that affect water quality, land use or similar issues close to home.

Mink Brook Community Forest

Hanover’s newest conservation project, these 250 acres of upland forest, floodplain meadow, and corridor of Mink Brook, are found off Greensboro Road. The project is expected to close in early 2021 and will be called the Mink Brook Community Forest.

Trescott Water Supply Lands

Over 1200 acres of carefully managed land protects Hanover’s drinking water supply. This vast tract is a hidden gem in the middle of Hanover. Owned by the Trescott Company (50% Town of Hanover and 50% Dartmouth College), this unconserved parcel allows public access to its many miles of signed trails.

Dana Forest and Pasture Natural Area

This large parcel at the top of Moose Mountain abuts the Hanover Conservancy-protected Shumway Forest, Mill Pond Forest and Huggins Trail Access, as well as the Baum Conservation Area and trails leading to the Appalachian trail. This property has high wildlife value and a fascinating human history.

Wilder Dam

The federal operating license for Wilder Dam expired in 2018. Read about proposed updates to the operating plan, as well as a public comment submitted by the Conservancy.

Hudson Farm

The 175-acre Hudson Farm is now protected forever as a part of the Appalachian Trail corridor, with the March 21, 2017 transfer from Dartmouth College to the National Park Service. This is the first addition to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Hanover in more than 15 years.

Kendal Riverfront Park

The site of the former Chieftain Motel was purchased by Kendal at Hanover, and a 10 year lease was granted to the Town of Hanover. The riverfront parcel is the current home of the Upper Valley Rowing Club and the site of our annual Connecticut River field trip with the Richmond Middle School.

Route 120

Development proposals for the Route 120/Mt. Support corridor warrant special consideration, as the vast forested parcels provide incredibly important habitat for wildlife amongst some of the Upper Valley’s busiest towns.

What We Do

Mink Brook and Gile Hill

July 1, 2019

Complete PDF

Driving Directions

You can drive to the take-off point at Gile Hill OR walk from DHMC on medical center campus trails.
From downtown Hanover, take Lebanon St./Route 120 south to the first light after Greensboro Road, at Medical Center Drive. Turn R at the light, pass the gas station, cross the bridge, and take the first R to Gile Drive.
Turn immediately L into the gravel parking area encircled by large stones, and park. This is your starting point.
Today’s hike is a loop through the Mink Brook Nature Preserve and adjoining Gile Hill area, encircling the 800’ rocky knob highlighted on the map at R.

What You Should Know

This is a moderately challenging hike, if only because it uses every sort of path you can imagine – from wide and paved to narrow and rocky, flat to steep – and everything in between. Wear sturdy shoes!
You’ll pass through surroundings that vary from a deep hemlock forest to sculpted grassy slopes between apartment buildings. It’s good to know such wild places are so close at hand.
Dogs are welcome but must be leashed while walking through Gile Hill and must always be under your close control. Please pick up after your pet.
Bicycles are not permitted in the Mink Brook Nature Preserve.

Hiking Directions

To begin your hike, walk to the paved road to the Gile Hill development and turn L onto the paved sidewalk just beyond. Follow the sidewalk as it crosses the access road several times and continues down past the apartment buildings. When the sidewalk ends, continue a short distance to White Pine Oval. Take the nearer end of the oval – your destination is a crosswalk at the far end that leads you to a paved path. Along the way, notice a “wall” of stones inside a gabion cage, a stark contrast to the native boulders visible just beyond and the early stone walls you’ll observe later on this trip.
Walk past the wooden rail fence to a crosswalk where you’ll take the wide paved path to Buck Road. Just as it curves L, note a steep sided trench at R, built to capture stormwater runoff from the paved areas and roofs. Before 2006, when the Gile Hill development was built, this entire hillside was a steep, forested jumble of boulders. It presented such an engineering challenge that it was the field site focus of a regional conference on stormwater management techniques.
The paved path ends at Buck Road near Route 120. Turn L and head down the hill on Buck Road, which was once the main road linking Lebanon and Hanover before 120 was built. In a few minutes, Buck Road swings L just before the narrow bridge that once carried it over Mink Brook.
A few paces beyond the turn, look for the Wheelock Trail just before a fire hydrant.
Named for Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth College (more about him in a minute), the blue-blazed trail begins as a narrow, rocky path threading among rocks and roots close to Mink Brook. You’re greeted by the sound of the tumbling brook and the cool sweet air of the protective forest, a stark change from Buck Road and Gile Hill. The Upper Valley Land Trust owns this land on the south side of the brook; you’ll pass beneath UVLT’s office perched at the top of the bank. UVLT was instrumental in protecting this parcel and the larger Mink Brook Nature Preserve in 1999, working hand in hand with the Hanover Conservancy (then known as the Hanover Conservation Council).
Five minutes from Buck Road, look for a rocky ledge on the far side of the brook where the water spills over a small falls. Amid the foliage above, you can make out the stone wall of an old mill structure. Watch your step among the tangle of roots across the trail. There’s a better view of the falls from below. You’re looking at the reason why Dartmouth College is in Hanover and not somewhere else!
1778 map of SW Hanover showing Mink Brook and college and Wheelock holdings
In the late 1760s, when Rev. Wheelock was searching for a town to locate his college, colonial governor John Wentworth and the proprietors of newly-founded Hanover and Lebanon joined together to offer him 2,000 acres surrounding this brook. This, the largest stream in Hanover, has an 18 square mile watershed, thus guaranteeing a good flow, and this falls offered a promising spot for a grist mill. This was essential gear for grinding grain to make flour to bake bread to feed hungry young men. The deal was sealed, and in 2019, Dartmouth celebrated its 250th anniversary, all thanks to Mink Brook. (After a first mill failed, Israel Woodward built this mill for Wheelock in 1771-1772).
But we digress. The Wheelock Trail continues into a cool glen shaded by hemlocks and becomes a wider path. Soon it heads up to a break in the canopy and bears R across land owned by Wheelock Terrace. Here, the sewer line passes under your feet on its way to the wastewater treatment plant at the mouth of Mink Brook.
Enter the woods once again at a small sign (TRAIL ->). In a few moments you’ll encounter a low stone wall marking an early boundary; today it announces that you have arrived at the Hanover Conservancy’s Mink Brook Nature Preserve. A remnant of barbed wire clings to a tree at L, and HC’s even more contemporary boundary marker, a 4’ plastic square, hangs on a tree at R. This stone wall marks the ancient property line between the 300 acre Wheelock parcel and the 1000 acre Dartmouth College parcel of land. That easterly property line makes a series of erratic westerly jogs as it runs north over the top of the hill and descends the northerly side. This reflects the fact that in 1771, after Wheelock had established his first mill on Mink Brook, it was found to be located not on Dartmouth property as the College Trustees had intended, but rather on Wheelock’s private property. Therefore, to appease the Trustees, the original property line was adjusted westerly, giving more land to the College.
Continue as the path becomes level and wide among the hemlocks. The brook’s floodplain may be flat, but you’re aware of steep, high slopes both across the brook and to your L. Soon they begin to crowd the path as steep ravines appear at L. What’s going on here? You are actually hiking along what was once the bottom of glacial Lake Hitchcock. This frigid lake covered the Connecticut River valley from Middletown, CT to Littleton, NH after the river’s waters were trapped by a dam of debris dropped by the glacier as it melted. Thousands of years later that dam broke, leaving us with the beautiful winding Connecticut River of today. While the lake was in place, however, soil washing in from the uplands settled on the lake bottom. In still water, such as that quieted by a veneer of ice, the finest particles of clay sink to the bottom. When the lake drained, Mink Brook’s braided waters flowed down through the newly exposed sediments, slicing deep channels through them on their way to meet the river. These old channels are now the steep ravines that surround you.
About 15 minutes’ walk from Buck Road, you reach a beautiful rocky gorge. The trail briefly becomes indistinct on the slope but picks up later. Take a moment to visit the water’s edge and discover a lovely pool behind a low dam. This dam was built in the 1920s to create a swimming hole for a seasonal cottage once owned by the Tanzi family. The cottage is now gone, but a nearby private residence remains on the opposite bank. Continue west on the Wheelock Trail.
Four minutes’ walk past the gorge a flat terrace appears at L; this is part of the old glacial lake bed, formed when the lake had partially dropped.
Two minutes later, you arrive at a dramatic spot where an enormous boulder guards the brook. The footing is tricky here. Climb below the boulder to admire its sheer face, but please resist the temptation to climb it. A look toward the brook may reveal woody debris tossed here by high water. A nearby tree shows the scars of two strands of barbed wire, two and three feet off the ground, presumably set 150 years ago to protect grazing sheep from falling into the water.
Just beyond the huge boulder is a very old stone wall with hemlocks growing from it. Scan the hillside at L to marvel at another partial wall of larger boulders. This land has clearly been used for many, many years.
Five minutes’ walk past the boulder brings you to a recently abandoned stream channel. Before Tropical Storm Irene, Mink Brook ran through this now nearly dry sandy area, but the August 2011 surge tore a new channel slightly north, where it now flows except in times of very high water. The trail heads toward the log crossing built in 2009. Just before the bridge are signs of erosion that began with Irene and continues today – a hemlock hangs out over the water, its roots exposed, and on the far side, the brook is scouring the north bank. Nearby at L, ferns occupy the swale of yet an earlier abandoned channel. This is a pretty busy place!
At the log crossing, you have a choice of exploring trails on the north side of the brook. If you do, please cross the log one at a time. A sign at L indicates that you have come from Buck Road and are headed toward Lebanon. Continue straight on the Wheelock Trail; it soon begins to swing away from the brook.
Just past a dead tree at R, look L for bright pink “whiskers” marking a study plot of Trillium. This study, conducted by the Biodiversity Committee of the Hanover Conservation Commission, is following survival of this native wildflower under heavy deer browse pressure.
A few steps further, a trail comes in at R. Take this for a few yards back to the streambank. Plans for a 32-lot housing development on this land included a road and bridge across the brook at this point. In 1999, to save this land as a refuge for the community – both human and wild – the Hanover Conservancy and Upper Valley Land Trust worked together to purchase the property. Over 500 households contributed, with Dartmouth College providing the major gift that ultimately made it possible to protect this land. Today, the 112-acre preserve is owned and managed by the Hanover Conservancy with help from volunteers. Conservation restrictions held by UVLT guide the preserve’s management.
Return to the Wheelock Trail, trying to visualize this place as a residential subdivision and yourself standing on a paved road leading to driveways, garages, mailboxes, landscaped yards, and houses with dogs and cats.
A few steps bring you to another junction, where the Wheelock Trail turns R and crosses a drainage over stones placed to allow both feet and water to pass. Here, you stay straight and continue on the orange-blazed Trout Brook Trail, a flat and gently winding pine-needle strewn path.
At R, pockets of ferny wetlands adorn the forest floor. It is easy to imagine how useful they are as sponges during heavy rains, holding back stormwater and protecting the brook from flooding and erosion.
Five minutes’ walk from the would-be subdivision bridge, arrive at another junction where a trail at R leads to Sachem Village. A small sign reminds that bicycles are not permitted at the Mink Brook Nature Preserve due to a condition placed on the College’s major gift that protected the land. The trail begins to climb as the mild music of falling water is heard.
Two minutes further, arrive at a small but picturesque waterfall on Trout Brook. At its foot are twin boulders, each wearing a rakish wig of moss and ferns. During a study of wild brook trout habitat by the NH Fish and Game Department and Trout Unlimited in 2012, biologists agreed that the protected forest in this area provides extremely high quality habitat for wild brook trout. (The trout are small, and deserve to live and grow another day.)
Keep the brook company for a short while, but watch for orange blazes as the trail swings L and heads up and away. Through the trees at L above is a flattish area where millet was grown by the Stone family when this land was part of their farm in the 1960s.
The Trout Brook Trail now heads steadily up, with Trout Brook singing away below to the R.
Seven minutes’ walk from the waterfall, you reach the height of land on the trail and emerge, blinking in the sudden change of light, into the clearing for a huge powerline. Needless to say, you’ve found the southern boundary of the nature preserve, which is also the boundary between Hanover and Lebanon.
Take a moment to adjust to the sharp contrast and then continue on the path, which bears L and down toward the power line. Coarse rock and gravel mark the route, which soon plunges up again, sometimes quite steeply, through clover, daisies, briars, coltsfoot, and 5’ white pines. It’s difficult to imagine that this area once looked exactly like what you just hiked. Replacing towering hemlocks with towering metal poles makes a big difference to everything beneath them!
About 10 minutes from the woodland’s edge, you arrive at another height of land affording a view of an electric transformer station below at R. Continue on the path, heading slightly L toward a gap in the trees and a yellow gate. Just beyond the gate is Trailhead Lane; turn R to reach the parking area where you left your car. If you walked from DHMC, turn R again at Medical Center Drive.

Old Highway 38 & Hudson Farm

September 1, 2018

A loop hike close to town that feels far away.

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 2.6 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 180 feet
Time: 1 hour

Categories: Hike of the Month, Hudson Farm, September
Tags: Appalachian Trail

Trail Directions and Map – Full Hike

Driving Directions

From the traffic light at Route 120 and Greensboro Road, take Greensboro Road east for 1.8 miles to its junction with Etna and Great Hollow Roads.
Park at the roadside pull-off. If you prefer off-road parking, turn in at David Farr Memorial Park and bear R and downhill to a shaded gravel parking area.
Today’s hike on an historic highway includes a loop through the now-protected Hudson Farm’s fields and forest.

What You Should Know

This is a fun and easy hike with a few sections of tricky footing among roots or rocks. The route is well-blazed.
The route follows an early road and then travels a loop on one of Hanover’s newest conservation lands. In 2017, the National Park Service purchased the Hudson Farm (brown-shaded area on map) to permanently protect it as part of the Appalachian Trail corridor.
Trails are maintained by Hanover Trails Committee volunteers and Berrill Farm neighbors.
Dogs are welcome but must be under your control; please pick up after your pet.
Snowmobiles, ATVs, and bicycles are not permitted.

Hiking Directions

Begin your hike on Greensboro Road at the blue town sign marking the Old Highway 38 Trail, directly opposite the town’s Farr Memorial Park.
The old road leads between two contemporary houses and shortly turns R (marked with arrow), immediately diving back into time at a pair of old stone walls – the first of many you will encounter today.
Don’t be dismayed by the steep path that suddenly appears– the rest of the hike is gentle and rolling. Follow the yellow blazes into the woods.
Town Highway 38 has a murky history. Laid out in 1795, it connected Greensboro and Trescott Roads. It was later discontinued, but its exact route was so hard to trace that when planning began for Berrill Farms in 1979, the town agreed with the developer on a route to be called the “Old Highway 38 Trail.”
The trail passes through a knobby landscape covered with ferns and a young forest of white pine. The stubs of lower branches encircling each tree are clues that these pines grew up together in an abandoned field, self-pruning those branches as the canopy closed in and blocked out the sun. A few venerable, much older maples survive.
Eight minutes from the trailhead you cross a fine stone wall. Follow it with your eyes to another at R, running parallel to the trail.
A few minutes later, take care crossing a wet spot, where “tree cookies” placed as pavers can be slippery. A small wooden bridge takes the trail over a space that is wetter in other seasons.
Six minutes from the first wall crossing, a trail comes in at L at the top of a small rise. This trail is closed to all but Berrill Farms residents. Continue straight, toward a blaze on a large, triple-trunk white pine. The nature of the forest has shifted, with more deciduous hardwoods, belying a different history.
You soon encounter another stone wall, this one built with much smaller stones – a clue that it once bordered cultivated land. The builder wished to spare his plow and give his carrot seedlings a chance by stooping to move and stack smaller stones. Had he been grazing sheep here, he wouldn’t have bothered. Take a moment to peel the years off this scene in your imagination, to a time nearly 200 years ago when the only trees were a few young maples left as shade for sheep, when sunlight flooded the ground you’re walking, and the view stretched E to nearby Mill Village, now called Etna. Time, and the end of the sheep craze, brought back the trees.
Seven minutes’ walk from the trail junction, you pass through a slot in the fallen bole of a big pine, nearly 3 feet through. That’s big – but trace it back to where it fell – it was once part of a massive ring of three trunks! These softwoods grow more quickly than hardwoods like maples and oaks, so despite its imposing size, it’s likely younger than most of the hardwoods.
The trail swings up and L and follows a stone wall that retains barbed wire from when cattle, not sheep grazed here. At R, a field appears.
Bear R at a fork in the trail, up onto a mown path into the E meadow of the former Hudson Farm, to begin a steady climb to a line of trees at the top. Monarchs and other butterflies join you at this time of year, alighting on milkweed, clover, and goldenrod among the grasses, and cicadas and grasshoppers contribute the music.
Five minutes from the woods trail, you arrive at the tree line, where a second field comes into view beyond. You are walking through one of Hanover’s iconic historical farm landscapes.
Stop for a moment to enjoy the expansive view. Straight ahead, the open slopes of Lebanon’s Storrs Hill stand out, even more so in winter when covered in snow. At R are the Rix Ledges, some of the most interesting terrain and wildlife habitat in Lebanon.
Approach the small white pine growing by itself in the field, 20 paces away. From this vantage point you can see Mount Ascutney rising in the distance, to the right of Rix Ledges. You won’t be the first to have “The Sound of Music” pop into your head – nobody’s watching, so twirl around and sing!
In June, 2017, this was the site of a grand celebration. A partnership between the Trust for Public Land and the Town of Hanover, assisted by the Hanover Conservancy, resulted in purchase of the 175-acre Hudson Farm by the National Park Service to permanently protect it as part of the Appalachian Trail corridor. In addition to major federal funding, many local contributions made this possible. Owned for many years by Dartmouth College, the property had been eyed as a site for everything from a cemetery and golf course to a housing development. Today, the AT Conservancy manages the land. The beautiful meadows will be kept open for their spectacular views and valuable grassland bird habitat.
Returning to the tree line, cross a low stone wall to the other field and a brown and yellow trail sign where two mown paths meet. From here, you can see a 20th century home built as a country retreat by Archer Hudson, a retired architect. Dartmouth College later purchased the property and carved off the house for resale, keeping the land. While the College referred to it as the “Hudson Farm,” the property ceased to be a farm when Hudson arrived.
When leaves are off the trees, you can also see the Adams Farm house, a late 18th/early 19th century white cape with a single chimney. This was home to the family that once owned the farmland you are exploring today. Hudson purchased land that included the Adams barn – and then burned it down.
[NOTE: To return along Etna Road, bear R here and take the mown path down through the meadow to Trescott Road and the Hudson Farm trailhead. Turn R on Trescott Road and R on Etna Road to your car.]
To continue today’s hike, bear L toward the woods to the lowest point in the rolling field.
Two sets of boardwalks offer dry footing across drainages. The second, larger one was built in 2018 by Hanover Trails Committee volunteers (thank you!). Protecting such headwater wetlands and streams from heavy foot traffic benefits water quality and trout habitat in Mink Brook.
Soon you’ll see a stone wall at R, reminder that this was once grazing land. Continue as the trail heads gently downhill, with the slabby stone wall on your R until the wall neatly turns a corner of the old pasture.
Shortly after, a blue sign at R indicates you are heading toward the Appalachian Trail.
[NOTE: For a much longer adventure, continue straight here, turn L (southbound) on the AT to the Conservancy’s Greensboro Ridge Natural Area, L at Oli’s Trail, L at the Greensboro Highlands Trail, L at the Silent Brook Trail, and then L onto Greensboro Road and walk 1.6 miles back to your car.]
To continue today’s hike, turn L at the blue sign and follow the yellow blazes past impressive white pines. The trail slabs along the contour. It is discouraging to note the invasion of non-native barberry (a prickly shrub) and glossy buckthorn (find its black berries underfoot among the pine needles). Consider volunteering for organized work parties to remove these pests from conservation land. Or, volunteer to remove them from your own property, to help keep them from spreading. Learn more about these invasives from the Hanover Conservation Commission’s Biodiversity Committee.
Continue down the hill to a small drainage that may be nearly dry at this season. The trail crosses it in two places and bears R. About 15 minutes from the top of the fields, you return to the path you took into the first meadow. Continue on the woods path and stay L to avoid a R fork leading over a stone wall. It’s another 15 minutes back to your car from here.
The trail soon swings R and down toward Greensboro Road. Listen for the two-part whistle of a broad-wing hawk and keep an eye out for mushrooms. These fungi decorate the forest floor at this time of year, in colors ranging from purest white to bloody red.
The sound of traffic is a clue that you are nearing Greensboro Road. A pair of granite boulders serve as your gateway back from Hanover’s past to its present.

8/30/2018

The Velvet Ledges of Greensboro Ridge

June 1, 2016

A quick but invigorating loop hike close to town.

Difficulty: Medium
Distance: 1.5 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 350 feet
Time: 1 hour

Categories: Greensboro Ridge, Hike of the Month, June
Tags: Appalachian Trail, hay-scented fern, porcupine, purple trillium

Greensboro Ridge Hike – Full PDF

Driving Directions

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.

June 2016, revised September 2020

Old & New Etna Loop

September 29, 2020

An easy to moderate hike among impressive stone walls on the oldest and newest trails in town.

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 4.5
Elevation gain: 370
Time: 2.25 mile loop

Categories: Hike of the Month, History, Hudson Farm, Invasive Species, King Bird Preserve/Hayes Farm Park, October, Trails
Tags: stone walls

HIKE DIRECTIONS & MAP – Full PDF

Driving Directions

From Etna, take Trescott Rd northwest for 0.5 miles to the junction with Partridge Rd.
Park in the parking area on the L (W) side of the road at the blue sign reading “Old Highway 38 Trail.” If the area is not accessible, continue up Trescott Rd 0.4 miles to the AT parking lot at R, just before a fence at the Trescott Water Supply Lands.
Today’s hike is a loop through the Hudson Farm’s fields and forest on an historic highway, behind Etna village on the famed Appalachian Trail, and down Hanover Center Rd. to the Etna Library, the Audrey McCollum Trail, and Partridge Rd.

What you should know

This is a mostly easy hike with a few short steeper sections and some with tricky footing among roots or rocks. The route is well-blazed and signed.
The route follows an early road on one of Hanover’s newest conservation lands. In 2017, the Hudson Farm (brown-shaded area on map) was permanently protected as part of the Appalachian Trail corridor.
The Audrey McCollum Trail, built by the Hanover Trails Committee from Hayes Farm Park to Woodcock Lane in 2017, was extended in Summer 2020 to Partridge Lane to provide improved access to the central conservation area owned by the Town of Hanover.
Trails are maintained by Trails Committee volunteers.
Dogs are welcome but must be under your control and must be leashed on the McCollum Trail; please pick up after your pet.
Deer hunting is permitted (except at Hayes Farm Park) by archery Sept. 15-Dec. 15
Foot travel only; snowmobiles, ATVs, and bicycles are not permitted.
Please respect nearby private property.

BRIEF HIKING DIRECTIONS

From the Hudson Farm parking area, take Old Highway 38 south to the rise in the meadow.
Turn R at sign for Old Highway 38 Trail and 38A Connector.
Stay straight at next trail junction; turn R at T toward Appalachian Trail.
Turn R (N) on AT, cross Trescott Road, and continue on AT to Hanover Center Road.
Turn R (S) on Hanover Center Road; follow to Etna Library.
Turn R into parking lot and take trail into meadow to junction with Audrey McCollum Trail.
Bear L onto Audrey McCollum Trail; follow this to Woodcock Lane.
Turn R onto Woodcock Lane and then L to new section of McCollum Trail.
Follow this to Partridge Road.
Turn L and walk along Partridge Road to Trescott Road; cross to reach your car.

FULL DIRECTIONS

Begin your hike by passing the kiosk and taking Old Highway 38 along the treeline up to the rise that is visible from the trailhead. At this season, the old field is filled with nodding goldenrod, small white asters, and periwinkle New England asters. Start “collecting” stone walls! Among the leaves cloaking the hedgerow at L is the first, a low stone wall separating two former pastures of the historic Adams Farm.
5 minutes’ walk brings you to the top of the rise and a brown/yellow trail sign where two mown paths meet. Look back at R – easily visible is a white 20^th century home built as a country retreat by retired architect Archer Hudson. Beyond another hedgerow is the Adams Farm house, a 1790 white cape and home of the family that once owned the former farmland you are exploring now. Hudson purchased land that included the Adams barn – and then burned it down. Dartmouth College later bought the property and carved off his house for resale. While the College referred to it as the “Hudson Farm,” the land ceased to be farmed when Hudson arrived.
In June, 2017, this was the site of a grand celebration. A partnership between the Trust for Public Land and the Town of Hanover, assisted by the Hanover Conservancy, resulted in the purchase of 175 acres by the National Park Service to permanently protect them as part of the Appalachian Trail corridor. In addition to major federal funding, many local contributions made this possible. Owned for many years by Dartmouth, the property had been eyed as a site for everything from a cemetery and golf course to a housing development. Today, the AT Conservancy manages the land. The beautiful meadows are kept open for their spectacular views and valuable grassland bird habitat.
Turn R at the sign to follow the Old Highway 38 Trail and pick up the 38A Connector. The trail heads down to the woods; crabapples at the edge, a remnant of farming days, bear colorful fruit at this time of year. Yellow blazes mark the trail.
Two sets of boardwalks offer dry footing across a wetland, built by Hanover Trails Committee volunteers (thank you!). Protecting such headwater wetlands and streams from heavy foot traffic benefits water quality and trout habitat in Mink Brook below. The wetlands act as sponges during heavy downpours, holding water to prevent flooding and erosion in downstream neighborhoods. While they may seem dry at this time of year, the coarse fronds of sensitive fern are a clue to wetter times. Keep an eye out for the intriguing white flowers of turtlehead. Their bee pollinators must muscle their way inside to gather their nectar.
Rising up and away from the wetland, you’ll soon see a pair of stone walls at R, reminders that this was once grazing land before the forest returned. The second turns a corner and follows the trail.
7 minutes’ hike from the first trail sign, note another at L where Highway 38 turns L. You continue straight on the 38A Connector for 0.3 miles to the Appalachian Trail.
Head over stepping stones on what may be a dry crossing at this season. The trail is now blazed blue, indicating a, AT connection trail. The rolling trail moves through mixed woods in former pastures.
5 minutes from the last junction, arrive at a T. Blue and white arrow signs in nearby trees (which seem eager to devour them) mark your R turn down the hill, following blue blazes. Mark the time – you’ll see why.
As you approach the clearly marked boundary of the old AT corridor – an 1800s stone wall, 1980s yellow blazes, and a 2017 boundary pin – you note that the forest understory is more open here. This land has a different history.
10 minutes from your last turn, reach the pine-needle strewn crossing of the Appalachian Trail. It is easy to miss! The connector trail continues beyond the AT, bending around a yellow birch about 50’ ahead. Stop and look for the white blaze on a pine at R.
Turn R onto the famed – but here quite humble – Appalachian Trail, heading gently up for 7 minutes to the top of a low ridge. Stop here and note the big old “wolf pine” at L, a pretty impressive character. The growing tip of such a white pine was damaged early in its career, which let side branches develop into competing leaders. No longer valuable for timber, such pines were often left to provide shade for grazing animals – and to spook hikers.
4 minutes later, cross another small wetland decorated with asters and turtlehead.
On the far side, the forest understory is suddenly crowded with young buckthorn, an invasive tree. At this season, when most proper New England trees are beginning to shed their leaves or at least turn color, the non-native buckthorn reveals the secret to its grim success – it retains its green leaves and keeps on photosynthesizing well after the natives have checked out for the winter, giving it a competitive edge.
4 minutes past the wetland crossing, arrive at Trescott Road. On the day we were out, during a drought, a thoughtful “trail angel” had left a cooler and big water bottle for thirsty hikers.
To continue on the AT, spot the trail across the road at one o’clock. A few steps in, a kiosk appears ahead. A path from the AT parking lot comes in at L, strewn with needles from the pine plantation it crosses.
Continue past the kiosk through thickly planted rows of pines, another part of the old farm that is now owned by the National Park Service.
After a small opening, watch for an odd rectangular structure of moss-covered concrete at R – was this the farm’s spring house? A few steps further is a spectacular round drylaid stone structure – possibly the foundation of a silo. Etna’s farming history is deep and rich – and its footprints are everywhere.
5 minutes from Trescott Rd, emerge into an opening where the trail skirts the upper edge of the recently reclaimed meadow. A stone wall (the fifth or sixth so far?) appears at R as the trail re-enters the woods. As you leave the Trescott Rd corridor behind, invasive buckthorn in the understory is replaced by native cherry, ash, and striped maple.
The AT crosses a low stone wall as you note many blowdowns. These may date from the 2007 Patriot’s Day windstorm that leveled much timber here and on the east slope of Balch Hill, among other places.
Cross another stone wall, this one remarkable for its long, angular slabs. Who knew stone walls had different personalities? We’ve only just begun!
Continue north on the AT as it rolls along, skirting the W edge of Etna village. Cross yet another stone wall.
The trail bears L, arriving at an interesting intersection of stone walls that once must have divided pastures. The AT follows one on your L – note some venerable sugar maples lining it. As the trail rises, this wall becomes even more impressive, nearly reaching chest height. We can’t resist sharing here that in 1870, a government agency estimated that over a quarter million miles of drylaid stone wall had been built in New England and New York, most during a few decades in the early 19^th century during the Sheep Craze. Recently, NH’s State Geologist has worked with area volunteers and UNH to create a citizen-based, on-line stone wall mapping tool using LiDAR maps. You can visit this site to see the stone walls you’re “collecting” on this hike (shown in pink on the image), and visit your own home area to see what other walls might exist nearby.
5 minutes after crossing the last wall, you reach a height of land. A trail joins at R from the nearby neighborhood, and low wooden signs – along with a mystery object made of iron – invite you to stop and look around. Off just a few paces at L is a large and impressive cellar hole. It is the remains of another Adams farmhouse you’ve discovered. The Adams family once owned all the land between Dogford Rd and the E leg of Trescott Rd, over which you have been walking. When the farm was sold and subdivided to create the Trescott Ridge subdivision in the 1960s, Partridge Rd was re-routed and the Adams farmhouse (R) was removed – another piece of Etna history lost.
Continue straight on the AT, following white blazes to avoid a few cross-trails here. Within sight of the cellar hole, another wooden trail marker tells you to turn R; a brush pile blocks the incorrect path ahead. Add to your stone wall collection as you encounter more, many marked with old maples. Did these walls border a garden, a pasture, a cart path, a sheep pen, a lane, or were they just convenient places to store the stones?
10 minutes past the cellar hole, descend toward a plush green wetland, startlingly green at this time of year. The spicy fragrance of drying hay-scented ferns is pleasing.
A plank crossing brings you over an often-dry streambed and the path twists toward an open field. On a summer morning, hawks may be hunting mice and other wee things from the perches above.
Just inside the meadow, the trodden path forks; bear R and skirt the old field through eye-high goldenrod before reentering the woods. The same dry streambed appears at L and you’ll soon cross it on a log bridge.
The trail passes behind the Etna cemetery, where many of those who built the walls and farms of Etna rest.
7 minutes after entering the field, arrive at Hanover Center Road and turn R. A short, more civilized walk along the road gives a fresh view of the forested wetland you just passed.
Some of Etna’s most historic buildings – Trumbull Hall and the brick First Baptist Church of Hanover at L, and the former parsonage in the red cape at R – announce your arrival at what was once known as Mill Village, for the many mills that made busy use of the power of Mink Brook.
At Ruddsboro Road, a beautiful stone wall (the 13^th or 15^th?) creates a centuries-old hypotenuse between the roads. This scenic triangle has been protected by the Town of Hanover. It is part of nearby Mink Meadow Farm, home to a long-time Etna farm family. On one side of the historic Yankee-style barn is the foundation of an old silo – on the other, a tiny former milkhouse that now boasts refrigerated eggs and farm-grown vegetables.
At R is the white 1767 Bridgeman House; the earliest part of this home is likely the middle section with the chimney. Take a moment to read the plaque mounted on the nearby stone. A tributary of Mink Brook passes behind the home and under the road.
Across the way, electric fencing excludes grazing cattle from the mainstem of Mink Brook, protecting water quality by allowing a lush buffer of native plants to grow along the stream to filter runoff. The farm family worked with the Connecticut River Conservancy to establish the fence and plant stream-side shrubs to keep the stream clean. For well over a century, waste from the entire village – including mill waste – was piped directly into the brook.
Don’t look now, but stone walls are everywhere in Etna village – among the most beautiful in town.
Pass the new fire station at R, and note the historic one ahead at L, a small gray clapboard building.
10 minutes from the farmstand, arrive at Etna Library, one of only three structures in Hanover listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Turn into the parking lot and pick up the trail at the far end.
You’re entering Hayes Farm Park, acquired by the Town of Hanover in 2010 from the Hayes family whose farmstead and barn stand nearby at L.
Walk up through the meadow toward the kiosk. Glance beyond it at the impressive glacial erratic with early 19^th century graffiti done by H. L. Huntington (for whom Huntington Hill takes its name). Take the R fork and continue straight through the meadow, up and around the corner, and through a gap in yet another stone wall. Here, the trail turns R and follows an early farm lane lined with beautiful high stone walls adorned by black, grey, and white lichens. How many tons of stone were moved to create the walls that stitch this rural landscape together? And all without machinery, just with man and animal muscle, patience, a good understanding of physics and gravity, and maybe not much else to do at certain times of year.
The path heads uphill to a fork marked by a sign indicating the King Sanctuary ahead and the path to Woodcock Lane to the L. Bear L as you gain the knoll – the wall makes the corner with you.
At L is a low cage protecting Trillium from deer browse. This is part of a deer monitoring project being of the Conservation Commission’s Biodiversity Committee. A few feet further stands a sign for the Audrey McCollum Trail. Stay L as the trodden path forks and follow Audrey’s Trail down into the woods, following yellow blazes. Bear immediately R on the needle-strewn path.
An ardent and well-known local conservationist, Audrey McCollum lived nearby on Trescott Road. Gifts in her memory allowed the creation of this trail in 2017.
Be sure to leash your dog here – porcupines den nearby!
Cross another stone wall and skirt the Trescott Wetlands on the somewhat rooty and rocky trail at the base of a dark hemlock and pine-covered slope. Contrast the stony hillside with the lush green ferny wetland at L. Audrey’s Trail goes over a few log crossings as you make your way around the wetland. Take care to stay on the trail and avoid nearby yards.
10 minutes from the start of Audrey’s Trail, arrive at Woodcock Lane. Turn R toward the lane’s end and L at a sign just before the driveways. Be sure to keep your dog leashed, and please pick up after it.
This new section of trail was completed in September 2020 after much planning and effort by the Hanover Trails Committee. It provides a welcome path for “bird road” and other Etna residents to explore the natural parts of their neighborhood and to visit friends.
The pleasant yellow-blazed trail soon crosses a stone wall (watch your footing for wobblers) and enters the woods. Five minutes later the trail uses a log crossing near a small wetland that is likely a pool earlier in the year. This is a good place to look for animal tracks.
Turn L onto Partridge Road and enjoy the 8-minute stroll along this pretty lane. “Collect” your final stone wall at #3 Partridge, where a handsome historic wall has become a valued landscape feature for a later home.
Your car appears ahead, across Trescott Road.