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Pine Park Perambulation

October 28, 2022

DOWNLOAD FULL PDF OF DIRECTIONS –  PineParkPerambulation

Driving directions:

  • From Hanover Green, go N on N. Main St.
  • Continue straight onto Rope Ferry Rd.
  • Park at the end of the road or near the clubhouse

What you should know:

  • Foot travel only. No bicycles.
  • Dogs welcome if under close control. Keeping dogs off river and stream banks will protect against erosion. Please pick up after your pet.
  • The hike explores a newly built all-person trail through open meadows and continues along the Connecticut River to an old-growth forest in the Girl Brook Gorge.
  • Pine Park is the oldest conservation land in Hanover. The first 43 acres were purchased in 1899 by a group of 17 Hanover residents to prevent the Diamond Match Company from harvesting trees along the river.
  • The park is owned by a private, non-profit Pine Park Association governed by a board of trustees, with representatives of the Town of Hanover and Dartmouth College. Seven acres of the former golf course (parts of holes 1, 5, and 18) occupied Pine Park property for a century.
  • The Town of Hanover and Dartmouth College generously help to maintain the land. The Association receives no direct funding from the Town or College for conservation or maintenance. A major community fundraising effort has recently resulted in extensive improvements at the Park .

BRIEF HIKING DIRECTIONS

  • Begin at the new stone gate and proceed 2100′ along the new accessible Rope Ferry Trail through a recovering golf course landscape.
  • Continue straight on the Rope Ferry Trail into the forest and down to the Four Corners.
  • Turn sharply L onto the Fern Trail.
  • Turn R onto the North Connector Trail.
  • Turn R onto the River Trail to Bailey Point at the Four Corners.
  • Bear L downhill on the Girl Brook Trail and cross the Carolyn Tenney Bridge.
  • Continue on the Girl Brook Trail and through the gorge, then bear R uphill onto the North Ravine Trail.
  • Turn L onto the new Rope Ferry Trail and retrace your steps to return to your car.

FULL DIRECTIONS

  • Begin your hike at the handsome stone gate announcing your arrival at the newly reconfigured Pine Park entry. The park immediately presents you with the first of many contrasts, right beneath your feet: you’re stepping onto a Class IV road originally laid out in 1766, but rebuilt with three layers of gravel in 2022 to accommodate strollers, wheelchairs, and walkers of all ages.
  • Pause for a moment to admire the handsome plantings of native trees and shrubs at the entrance, chosen for two-season color. Shadbush, viburnums, feathery amsonia, birch, and Stewartia replace invasive plants and scrubby growth. The stone gate, built by Standing Stone, is gathered with old-fashioned mortar. Stones are hand-chipped to fit, and the upright coping on the uppermost layer echoes a traditional method to make the wall stronger.
  • Start down the gently arcing trail. The friendly path is a feat of engineering, requiring an investment of $185,000 raised in the community. Until recently, park users had to be very fit – quick enough to dodge flying golf balls and strong enough to deal with steep terrain. Today it’s possible to simply stroll. The 2100’ long trail allows everyone to venture deep into the park.
  • Passing the corner of a neighbor’s new cobble wall, you step from the Class VI road onto park land.  The Class VI section is 400 feet long. A flat area at L is the former 18th green, one of several removed by Dartmouth College after the golf course was closed and nine acres were returned to Pine Park. Back in 1913, after the Park Association signed an agreement with the college to manage the area, the growing golf course spilled over onto park land, which included a 7.5 acre gift from neighbor Emily Hitchcock. This agreement is being revised, along with boundary adjustments to benefit both. The result will be a natural Pine Park for all, consisting of 100 acres.
  • A berm at L follows the presumed route of Old Ferry Road in this part of the park. Its exact path is unknown, and planners rely on a 1925 map drawn from memory by a college professor.
  • 7 minutes’ walk from the entrance, arrive at an iconic pine tree with boulder benches at its feet. Pause to admire the sweeping view over the former golf course, where in mid-fall, red maples blaze on slopes mixed with the subtler tones of beech and red oak. The wind makes waves in the golden, newly planted grass. Here and there, new tree plantings attract birds and soften the transition to forest.
  • Along the treeline, non-native buckthorn and honeysuckle are also attempting to colonize the area. The Park Association will work with natural resource consultant Redstart to control these invasives with a grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Restoring natural drainage on the former golf course is another task.
  • The Rope Ferry Trail makes a gentle U up to the L, providing a view of the former clubhouse. Art professor Homer Eaton Keyes    designed the shingled Arts and Crafts-style structure around 1915 as a remodeling of an earlier “golf barn.” The building holds both charm and contamination. Asbestos and lead paint are among the challenges preventing its creative adaptation to a new use.
  • Reach the rise in the path to discover another group of three boulder benches, arranged for conversation.
  • Now it’s time to enter the woods and discover an entirely different face of Pine Park. As you do, check the forest floor at R for a patch of delicate sweet woodruff, whose starry white flowers will bloom in May.
  • Shortly past the transition to the wooded path, another trail enters at L; if you have lingered too long on the benches, this is your quickest route back to your car. To continue, stay straight on the route of Old Ferry Road.
  • The trail truly feels like a road as it leads you easily over the highest ridge in the park. Note the steep drop-offs to either side. Here and there, hazard trees have been felled to protect trail users. Tawny beech leaves decorate the nearly level trail until it begins to head down through a dense hemlock stand.
  • Suddenly, the ancient road becomes even more obvious, its bed deeply incised in the soft soil. Laid out in 1766, five years after Hanover was incorporated, the road led to a rope-operated ferry across the Connecticut River that ran until 1786. A tavern waited on the Vermont side, and we can imagine Dartmouth students eager to try the crossing. It’s no surprise that it was the ambitious tavern keeper who sought the license to build the ferry. The ferry landing spot is unknown, but likely was at the sandy mouth of Girl Brook.
  • Don’t miss the mound and pit topography of the forest floor at R. These lumps and depressions are characteristic of undisturbed forest, and are what remain many years after a tree blows down. The lifted root ball eventually decays to become a mound next to the pit where it used to rest. Some people call these “pillows and cradles.” By looking at one in relation to the other, you can tell what direction the wind was blowing when it took down the tree.
  • Continue down the slope over a few waterbars built to keep runoff from eroding the trail. Long-time volunteer Ron Bailey built these. Bailey Point, ahead at the confluence of Girl Brook and the Connecticut, is named in his honor.
  • About 10 minutes’ walk from the meadow, the river appears ahead. Look for a trail junction (signs coming soon) at L. At the foot of the hill take a sharp L onto the Fern Trail, heading S and away from the river. It’s time to explore yet another side of Pine Park. Invasive plants were removed here during the summer of 2022, and hay-scented ferns, briars, and other young sun-seeking growth are colonizing the opening made in this once cathedral-like part of the forest. Attacked by beetles and a needle-cast fungus, the tall pines that once stood here had become a danger in this heavily-used park, and were taken down in 2019 under the supervision of professional foresters. The decision was a difficult one for all. Merchantable sections were removed and branches were chipped, but many downed trunks remain, still storing the carbon they contain. The arrangement makes for tricky footing for deer, discouraging them from browsing new tree sprouts. Viable saplings will be protected with tubes. On the forest floor, patches of bearberry are increasing.
  • 4 minutes from the last junction and just before the Fern Trail swings R ahead, turn R onto the new North Connector. This short trail is easy to follow, with its 15” thick log “guard rails.” About this open area, Pine Park Association President Linda Fowler says, “if Mother Nature doesn’t come up with seedlings soon, we will help her out.” Plans call for a grove of trees with a bench for quiet reflection. 
  • 4 minutes from the Fern Trail, arrive at a 3-stemmed pine at the junction with the River Trail. Again, if you’re running out of time, turn L here to return to your car.
  • To continue, turn R onto the most familiar part of Pine Park, where the trail hugs the river. Even the sounds of cars on Route 5 across the water can’t dim the pleasure of this path. In the late 1800s, the Diamond Match Company hoped to buy this patch of forest and literally turn it into matchsticks. Concerned locals stood up to the corporate giant and purchased 44 acres to create Pine Park, the very first conservation land in Hanover. Those burly would-be matchsticks have now reached a size that would catch the eye of old King George, who in the 1700s claimed every pine greater than 24” in diameter for the Royal Navy. “Mast pines” still stand tall here thanks to action by concerned citizens.
  • A close look reveals the eroding riverbank. Pine Park, like other lands in the impoundment behind Wilder Dam, is affected by daily raising and lowering of the water for power production. Unlike other landowners, Pine Park has a long-standing agreement with the power company to protect its riverbanks, and work has been done to safeguard trees that might topple into the water and tear open the bank.
  • Please stay away from the water’s edge – dogs, too – to keep from destabilizing the bank further.
  • Near the N end of the park, two rustic benches offer a chance to stop and enjoy the largest river in New England as it makes its way from a tiny beaver pond near the Canadian border through four states to Long Island Sound, a journey of 410 miles. It’s probably pretty peaceful today, but imagine what it might have 4 been like before the dam was built and the log drives went through here. You’d be able to walk over the logs to Vermont if you’d brought your spiked boots.
  • Just S of the farthest bench is the Four Corners trail junction. From this point the Rope Ferry Trail you came down on appears up ahead. Instead, bear L and downhill amid slender yellow birches to the Girl Brook Trail.
  • This soon flattens with Girl Brook at R and a river “setback” at L. Might the ferry landing have been here?
  • A sewer manhole cover seems out of place in the middle of the trail, but reminds that in 1961, the line here prompted the Town of Hanover to plan a wastewater treatment plant here – at Pine Park! Wiser heads prevailed, and it was built instead at the mouth of Mink Brook.
  • In the early 1900s, Emily Hitchcock gave additional land to Pine Park including the area you’re now walking.
  • Erosion on the banks of Girl Brook has been a problem for years, evidenced by random squares of old sidewalk brought years ago to armor its bank. The Byrne Foundation recently gave $20,000 to shore up the brook-side trail in a more esthetically pleasing way.
  • A few minutes’ walk from the Four Corners, the Firehouse Trail heads uphill at L; you bear R to cross the Carolyn Tenney Bridge. Carolyn was co-founder and first president of the Hanover Conservation Council, now the Hanover Conservancy. She lived on Rope Ferry Road, was a Town Commissioner for Pine Park, and was a lifelong conservationist. In their first project together, the Pine Park Association raised the funds for the bridge and the Town built it.
  • You’re now entering the most dramatic, ancient, and mysterious part of Pine Park, the Girl Brook Gorge. A lush variety of ferns blankets the slopes at right – delicate maidenhair and sturdy Christmas fern, as well as foamflower. Yellow birch, with its glistening golden bark, grows big and old among towering pines, hemlocks, and others. It’s noticeably cooler here in this steep and shady gash in the land, cut by Girl Brook in the 14,000 years since glacial Lake Hitchcock drained downriver. Slippery clay soils underfoot are remnants of lake-bottom sediments, easily sliced by a roaring brook. This gorge is 120’ deep in places, setting it apart from the world above. Imagine – Girl Brook once flowed far above your head!
  • The creator of this valley is the most hydrologically challenged stream in Hanover. Its small and intensively developed watershed reaches from CRREL to Balch Hill to the Dartmouth campus. Much of its watershed – except here – lost its natural forest cover more than 150 years ago. Think farmland followed by pavement, rooftops, rugby field, and golf course. At the former driving range on the E side of Lyme Road, swales show where this land sheds water toward the brook. Rain falling on this mowed or developed land has nowhere to go but run off, and can’t easily soak into the soil where it could feed the brook more consistently. During a drought and even in normal times between rains, the brook runs dry. A rainfall will drain through quickly, leaving the channel empty. Not a healthy thing for amphibians, fish, and other creatures that require year-round wet habitat.
  • While Girl Brook may remind you of a well-landscaped storm drain, the towering slopes of its valley walls support something of wonder – a rare remnant of old growth forest. Too challenging for the axman, the forest remained largely untouched and now shows the variety of species, age classes, and structure that only develops over hundreds of years.
  • About 10 minutes from the Tenney Bridge, arrive where recently cut hazard trees line the trail. Look L to see an immense, spidery root system of a large tree that has fallen across the brook.
  • The valley begins to open up and you soon come to a fork in the trail. Bear R up a short, somewhat steep hill. Watch your footing – angular stones underfoot were placed to slow runoff down the path. Halfway up, a large cut stump at L offers a place to catch your breath.
  • Pavement appears ahead as you emerge from the woods. At L is the site of the high bridge that once carried golfers across the gorge from one part of the old course to another. The 90-year old bridge was removed a few years ago for safety reasons.
  • At the top of the rise, bear R at a fork to rejoin the Rope Ferry Trail in 25 paces.
  • Turn L to return to your car. Consider how many communities you know with such places within walking distance of downtown – so diverse, from meadows to old growth forests, a major river, and a tiny stream. Pine Park is a true treasure.

October, 2022

Thanks to Linda and Steve Fowler of the Pine Park Association, and to the many friends and neighbors who contributed in so many ways to the rejuvenation of Pine Park.
Learn more at https://pinepark.org

Thanks to the Coop Food Stores’

program for supporting this hike of the month 

Filed Under: Hike of the Month, Lands, November, Pine Park Tagged With: Connecticut River, hike, Hike of the Month, history, Pine Park

Hanover Conservancy’s 60th Anniversary Celebration

September 1, 2021

Please join us for a joyous celebration of community conservation past, present, and future amid the colorful maples at Rivercrest, just across from our offices at 71 Lyme Rd. Awards, special guests, great stories and good cheer in honor of 60 years.

Celebration will be held on Saturday, October 2nd, 2-4pm with remarks starting at 2:30pm. Please make sure to dress warmly as the event will be held outside.

Park at 71 Lyme Road or Sheridan Printing.

Rain Date- Sunday, October 3rd

Partner Recognition:

  • Russell Hirschler- Upper Valley Trails Alliance
  • Julia Griffin & Rob Houseman- Town of Hanover
  • J.T. Horn- Trust for Public Land
  • Betsy McGean- Trust for Public Land & former president 

Check out our Celebrating 60 years page to learn more about how the Conservancy got its start.


Thank you to our event sponsors!

Fisher Financial Advisors

Revision Energy

LindeMac Real Estate

E.C. Brown’s

Coop Food Stores

Mascoma Savings Bank

My Brigadeirio

Poverty Lane Orchards


Special thanks to


Dartmouth College

Lyme Road Dental, Neal Wallace Dental

Sheridan Printing

Red Clover

Hanover Parks & Recreation 

Those Guys of Lyme

Tagged With: 60thCelebration, conservation, Hanover, history, partnerships, Town of Hanover Leave a Comment

The History of Conservation in Hanover

April 9, 2021

The History of Conservation in Hanover…or, how to string a green necklace, bead by bead.
Tuesday, April 27, 7:00pm – via Zoom
Sponsored by the Hanover Conservancy and Hanover Historical Society
Speaker: Adair Mulligan, Executive Director, Hanover Conservancy

We’ll take an armchair tour of Hanover and its many now-protected spaces to celebrate Earth Week.
Beginning with a look back at the bad old days of water pollution, environmental degradation, and the
back to the land movement, we’ll go forward with the founding 60 years ago of the Hanover
Conservation Council (now Hanover Conservancy), and the blossoming of conservation efforts in this
beautiful town, from the Connecticut River to the peaks of Moose Mountain. Well-illustrated with maps
and images, we’ll reveal the backstory of how the “green necklace” came to be strung around
downtown Hanover, culminating in the protection this year of the 250-acre Mink Brook Community
Forest.

Open to all – register for zoom link at www.hanoverconservancy.org/events

Filed Under: Events, History, Partnerships Tagged With: conservation, Hanover, history

Huntington Hill North Loop

August 25, 2020

Driving Directions

  • From downtown Hanover, head N on Lyme Road (Route 10)
  • 6 miles after passing Kendal, turn R on Goodfellow Road
  • Head uphill for 0.7 mile; pavement ends near historic white farmhouse on R
  • Park in pull-off on L (north) side of road near gate. A sign reads “foot travel welcome.”huntington hill north map

What You Should Know

  • Today’s hike is a pair of loops on permanently protected, privately owned land. Please respect the generosity of landowners who provide public access, and pack out your trash.
  • Much of this route travels over wide and less-used trails – old farm lanes and mowed meadow paths – allowing for ample physical distancing while enjoying the outdoors.
  • Dogs must be under your close control. Please pick up after your pet.

Brief Hiking Directions

  • Walk around the gate and follow the mowed path to Sam’s Pond.
  • Beyond the pond, bear L at a fork
  • Bear L at another fork labeled “Hansy’s Loop”
  • Bear L at another fork with arrows pointing both ways and sign reading “Hansy’s Loop”
  • Returning to this point, return on the trail traveled earlier but turn L just past a large fallen tree on R
  • Turn L at T at a stone wall to follow Allegra’s Field Trail
  • Cross a second stone wall and bear R
  • After reaching a second meadow, bear R and down to the pond
  • Turn L to cross the pond’s dam and return to your car.Pond on Huntington Hill

The Full Story

  • Begin by walking around the gate and following the mowed path as it winds through a pleasant meadow.
  • An expanse of water appears ahead – you’ve found Sam’s Pond.
  • Pause by the small dock for a moment to contemplate the major conservation success that allows you to visit today. You’re walking through 83 beautiful acres that are part of the permanently protected Huntington Hill property. Dr. Sam Doyle purchased this land in 1991 and conveyed a conservation easement on six parcels, including this one, to the NH Fish and Game Department. On the S side of Goodfellow Road, the property spans another 417 acres. Other adjacent conservation lands, including the Moister Meadow (20 acres, easement held by the Hanover Conservancy), the Mudge land (8 acres, easement held by Fish & Game) and the Nutt Farm (207 acres, easements held by Society for Protection of NH Forests) bring the total of protected, connected wildlife habitat to a stunning 735 acres. (See map on next page, where these areas appear in dark green). Today, Huntington Hill continues under a new family, with the original protections intact (see p.4).
  • Continue across the earthen dam to the far side, and bear L through another meadow. The coarse fronds of sensitive fern at L tell you that area is damp without the need to feel the soil. Drier parts of the upland meadow are studded at this season with the nodding white flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace. Continue straight as a second mown path comes in at L. Your trail soon swings to the R and up into the woods, returning to the N edge of the meadow, where the pond comes back into view. At the far edge, look L for a yellow-highlighted sign reading “Hansy’s Loop.”
  • Bear L here, walking up and away from the pond. After a few minutes, an orange arrow guides you to bear L.
  • A large blowdown at L gives an intimate view of the fallen tree’s root system and the light soil in which it grew.
  • 5 minutes from the last junction, arrive at another fork with arrows pointing both ways, and bear L.
  • Travel gently down through a mixed age forest of pine, northern red oak, and other hardwoods. These are taking the place of an earlier stand of white birch, whose fallen members litter the forest floor, returning nutrients to the soil. Look for a variety of club mosses thriving here – ground cedar, shining clubmoss, and others. The strange and ghostly white stems and flowers are Indian Pipe, a wildflower – not a fungus – that takes food from tree roots rather than making its own with green chlorophyll.
  • As the trail swings R and to the SE, you’ll encounter some much larger trees. Sharp eyes will spot fragments of old barbed wire caught in their trunks and realize these are boundary trees – allowed to grow to such size because neither neighbor dared cut them, and they were serving as useful fence posts at a time when the landscape was more open. One oak looks to be at least 30” in diameter at breast height. 7 minutes from the last fork, the trail swings R again at a huge double-stemmed red oak marked with a red boundary blaze.
  • 3 minutes later, you’re back at the start of Hansy’s Loop. Retrace your steps back down the hill for about 45 paces; just past the fallen tree at R seen earlier, turn L onto a less distinct, unmarked trail.
  • This trail soon reaches a low stone wall, where you turn L and walk gently uphill for a short distance past the end of the wall. This is the first reminder that this wooded land – and most of Hanover – was once open sheep pasture. After all, nobody builds stone walls in the woods! In 1840, Hanover had 2,613 human residents and a startling 11,024 sheep.
  • The trail narrows and rises more steeply to another impressive oak, then flattens out. Soon, arrive at a larger stone wall. Just beyond, a sign announces “Allegra’s Field Trail.”
  • 3 minutes’ hike from the last stone wall, reach another sunny meadow. In your view at about 2 o’clock is Huntington Hill, at 1247’ a perfect twin of the hill you just hiked around.
  • The meadow’s mown path forms a T: turn R, noting the lowbush blueberries carpeting the area. This must be a very happy place for bush-surfing bears in July.
  • Head down through the field amid the sunny heads of goldenrod. There are many species of this yellow aster-type flower in northern New England, but did you know that there is also one called silverrod? Its white flowers are reminiscent of moonbeams.
  • Huntington Hill’s variety of habitats – shady diverse forest, sunny meadows, open water, and the edges where they meet – are more important than you might think in keeping Hanover’s landscape resilient to the effects of climate change. Why? Connectivity. Strategically located between the migratory pathway that is the Connecticut River and the uplands of Moose Mountain, Huntington Hill connects these areas. It provides an important travel corridor for birds and other wildlife that need to move around, either seasonally to summer breeding grounds, or more long-term as the climate changes. If wildlife can move freely, their genes can too, meaning that their populations don’t become isolated, inbred, and therefore less healthy. In this map, dark green shows conserved and public lands; light green shows core areas for conservation focus, and purple indicates important connectivity corridors stretching from the river to the core (the star indicates today’s hike location.)
  • As you re-enter the cool woods at the foot of the same stone wall you recently crossed, note the heap of many small stones. These tell you that the land nearby was once tilled, and the farmer went to the effort to pick the stones and transport them here to spare his plow and give his root crops a fighting chance.
  • Walk along the contour on a wide old farm lane. Watch for acorns on the trail – they make wonderful food for wildlife but can act like ball bearings underfoot!
  • 15 minutes from the top of the last meadow, arrive at the lower end of the first wall you crossed, and Sam’s Pond appears through the trees ahead at L. As you close your second trail loop of the day, note a large rhododendron, oddly out of place near the trail junction. It must have been planted – but by whom, and why?
  • Watch the area carefully before stepping out of the woods. On the day we visited, a male Northern Harrier (formerly called a marsh hawk) sailed out over the meadow from the pond.
  • At the lower field’s edge, turn L to the pond. Pause a moment to watch for wildlife – maybe the darting gymnasts of the air, dragonflies on the hunt above the water’s surface or resting on a blade of grass. Check the sediments at the water’s edge for tracks. Goldfinches chatter in the trees.
  • Continue to the far side of the pond. At this season, your reward may include ripe blackberries on the briars that frame parts of the trail. This is one of many kinds of mast on which wildlife thrives here – blueberries, acorns, naturalized crabapples, and more.
  • Follow the mown path to your car on Goodfellow Road.

Historical Notes

Goodfellow Road, linking Lyme Road with Hanover Center Road since at least 1855, takes its name from the Goodfellow family, from whom Dr. Doyle purchased the land in 1991. The Goodfellows arrived between 1893 and 1925.

In the 1850s-80s several generations of the Runnels family lived on and farmed on the land you visited today. By 1885, John Runnels was listed as a “wool grower” with 125 sheep on 196 acres. He had served three years in the Civil War with the 9th New Hampshire Volunteers.

In the 1880s-90s the Ingalls brothers, A.H. and Charles, occupied the big white farmhouse, barn, and 250 acres across the road. Also sheep farmers, they had an apple orchard of 100 trees, a maple sugar orchard of 200 trees, and 130 head of sheep. Back in 1855, the family of Andrew Huntington – he who gave his name to the property –farmed that land. Andrew, who probably built the 1780 farmhouse, served in the Revolutionary War with his brothers Christopher and Samuel.

Today’s owners feel viscerally attached to their property on Goodfellow Road and were excited to purchase conserved land from Sam Doyle with the promise to Sam that they would continue his focus and dedication to the land – maintaining and expanding the network of trails, promoting the property as a wildlife habitat, keeping fields mowed, and sustainably harvesting timber according to the Forest Management plan maintained by Jeff Smith of Butternut Hollow Forestry.

September, 2020

This Hanover Hike of the Month has been generously sponsored by

Filed Under: Hike of the Month, History, Huntington Hill, September, Trails Tagged With: farming, Goodfellow Road, history, huntington hill, Sotheby's

Behemoths of Balch Hill

August 12, 2020

Hike Directions & Map – Full PDF

Driving directions:

  • From Downtown Hanover, drive east for 1.6Route map on Balch Hillmiles on East Wheelock Street, up a long hill to the junction of Grasse and Trescott Roads.
  • Park in the unpaved informal parking area on the northeast side of this intersection.

What you should know:

  • This loop hike takes you through the Balch Hill Natural Area to the summit with its beautiful views. Along the way you’ll visit grandfather trees that may have witnessed our town’s founding – including the Grafton County Champion Northern Red Oak.
  • You’ll be walking on lands owned by Dartmouth College, the Hanover Conservancy, and the Town of Hanover. Conservation easements and other restrictions protect some but not all of this land.
  • Trails have occasional short up-and-down grades but are easy for the entire family.
  • Foot travel only; no bicycles please.
  • Archery hunting for deer is permitted Sept 15 through Dec. 15; blaze orange is a good wardrobe choice.
  • Dogs are welcome but must be under your control; please pick up after your pet.

BRIEF HIKING DIRECTIONS

  • Take the red-blazed Grasse Road Trail from the trailhead kiosk to the summit, crossing a small footbridge.
  • From the summit kiosk, take the Fire Trail down to the junction with the Maple Trail.
  • Return to the summit and take the Hemlock Trail down to a large fallen tree.
  • Return to the summit and head for a group of apple trees and a stone bench. Look for the Piane Trail sign and turn L onto the red-blazed Grasse Road Loop.
  • Take this trail to the Champion Red Oak; continue to the small footbridge and turn R to return to your car.

FULL DIRECTIONS

  • Begin your hike at the trailhead kiosk, across Grasse Road from the parking area. The Hanover Lions Club generously donated this timber frame kiosk in 2011. Here, you can read a bit about the history of this land and pick up a trail guide if you wish.
  • The Grasse Road Trail heads across the slope on Dartmouth College land. This section was re-routed in 2015 by an Upper Valley Trails crew to follow a gentler, more sustainable path than the original.
  • The path soon turns to avoid a series of downed trees. What happened here? A short but violent windstorm on Patriot’s Day in April, 2007 blew down many trees on this part of the hill, and it will be years before they degrade back into the earth.
  • For several years near this spot stood a deer “exclosure” where Dartmouth ecology students conducted a study  to determine the effect of deer browse on the vegetation. Two identical plots, one fenced against deer and the other unfenced, were compared each year. Here are the results for the plot in this area. The blue bars indicate total number of plants in the fenced plots where deer cannot enter to browse, while red bars indicate the number of plants in the unfenced plots. In 2012, before the fencing went up, both plots had nearly the same number of plants. Contrast that to 2015! The largest change is in the number of wildflowers, especially Canada mayflower.
  • You’ve reached the low stone wall marking the southern boundary. Look for fragments of sheep fencing (large rectangles of wire fence) that date from the pre-Civil War “sheep craze” in the Upper Valley. In 1840, Hanover had over 10,000 sheep grazing on its hillsides, including this one, while the human population was around 2,000.
  • Follow the Grasse Road Trail as it makes a right turn away from the wall and heads north among tall, cool hemlocks.
  • At the junction with the Hunter East Trail (route to the Morrison Road neighborhood), turn left and cross a small log bridge over a wet area and onto Hanover Conservancy land.

Balch Hill sunset in winter. Photo by Rob Chapman

  • The trail bears right then immediately left and heads up the slope past some dramatic pine snags. In ten minutes’ walk from your car, you’ll reach the 920’ summit.
  • Enjoy the sweeping views from this, the only open summit in town where the public is welcome. Twenty-one miles to the south is grand Mount Ascutney. The spire of Baker Tower marks downtown Hanover in the near view to the west, while on the western horizon, 29 miles across Vermont, the sharp peak of Killington appears. To the northwest, our volunteers have been restoring the view toward Gile Mountain in Norwich.
  • Historically, the summit of Balch Hill was used as a pasture for grazing sheep and cattle. Records indicate that it was cleared of most trees for more than a century. In our experience, those trees badly want to return! We’ve been working to restore the orchard on the hill and keep the views open by mowing the meadow.

View of Hanover from Balch Hill in winter; undated photo
View of Hanover from Balch Hill in winter; undated photo

  • Once known as Corey Hill after an early owner, Balch Hill takes its name from former owner Adna P. Balch (1817-1889). Balch, a prominent citizen who served in the legislature in 1876-1877, promoted the development of the railroad in the Connecticut River Valley and was a director of the Hanover Gas Company. In the early to mid-twentieth century, the summit was known as Dewey Hill Pasture, after owners in those later days.
  • You can imagine what demand there might be to develop this hillside with its astounding views, so close to town. That’s why the Hanover Conservancy, then known as the Hanover Conservation Council, set out to purchase the summit when a New York developer proposed first 126 condominiums and then 49 luxury homes for this place. The community came together to protect the land, with the Council and Town later adding to it with a second purchase from the Garipay family. Make a note to come back for the annual Balch Hill Kite Day in May or the Hawk Watch in September, to see how much the community enjoys this natural area today. It was worth the effort!
  • After visiting the summit kiosk, erected by the Council in memory of Alice Jackson in 2009, begin your tour of Balch Hill’s biggest trees. Take the wide Fire Trail behind the kiosk for a short distance to its junction with the Maple Trail.
  • Take this right turn and in just a few steps you meet some venerable old sugar maples that may once have marked the path of an early road. These ancients stand out against their much younger brethren.
  • A person stands underneath a huge oak tree with one fallen limbHead back up the Maple and Fire Trails to the summit. Pass the kiosk and nearby bench, and head down to the right toward the Hemlock Trail sign. You’ll soon come to the remains of an enormous old oak tree, its split trunk and massive limbs now draped across the landscape, having lost their battle with gravity and time. The trail actually passes under the fallen trunk. Here’s what it looked like in 2014 (right).
  • Return to the summit for your last view before visiting the largest resident of Balch Hill. From the low bench near the summit maple, walk west and downhill toward the view of downtown, to another stone bench near a group of crabapple trees. Just beyond, you’ll see a sign for the Piane and Grasse Rd Loop Trails on the left, nailed to a white birch. Head down this trail only a few steps and make a sharp left onto the red-blazed Grasse Rd Loop.
  • The Grasse Rd Loop trail follows the contour, leading you in a couple of minutes to the County Champion Northern Red Oak, marked with a small sign. Despite its size, it can be easy to miss as its bulk is so far overhead. Look for it opposite the cut trunk of a tree.
  • Neighbors are sometimes reluctant to cut trees along boundaries, and we think it was this instinct that protected this massive tree, the largest survivor of its kind in Grafton County. When measured by the state’s Big Tree Steward in 2014, it had a circumference of 196 inches, a height of 114 feet, and an average crown spread of 80 feet. Had its cousin on the Hemlock Trail not lost its limbs, that tree would have been even larger.
  • After admiring this giant and imagining the history it must have witnessed, continue on the trail that soon bears left to head up a small valley to the small footbridge you crossed earlier. You’re now five minutes from your car.
  • Cross the bridge, bear right at the junction with the Hunter East Trail, and return down the hill to your car.

The volunteer Balch Hill Stewardship Committee cares for thisVolunteers tend a fire to remove cut brush on the summit of Balch Hill in winter. place and always welcomes help. Contact us if you’d like to get involved! We welcome contributions to the Balch Hill Stewardship Fund to help with the costs of annual mowing, vegetation management, and trail improvements.

December 2016, updated September 2020

Filed Under: Balch Hill, December, Forest Ecology, Hike of the Month Tagged With: Dartmouth College, history, maple, oak, summit, Town of Hanover, view

Since the first Earth Day…

April 20, 2020

In 1970, the Hanover Conservancy (then the Hanover Conservation Council) was 9 years old. We had already protected Balch Hill and the Tanzi Tract and helped protect Lyme’s 43-acre Wilder Wildlife Area and Plainfield’s 35-acre New England Wildflower Society preserve. As for the rest of town…what a difference 50 years can make!

map of 1970 vs map of 2020 properties

Filed Under: Conservation, Events, History, Lands Tagged With: Earth Day, history

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

info@hanoverconservancy.org

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