QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 1,440 acres
- Trail Mileage: +7 miles in network
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: moderate
- Sights: Marsh Stream, beaver pond
The 1,440-acre town forest offers walking along gravel roads and weathered forest tracks. Some of these trails lead to Marsh Stream, which has rapids where a broken snowmobile bridge crosses it to Pine View Lane (marked with a red icon on my map).
Marsh Stream is wide enough to fool you into thinking it might be a river! I saw whitewater kayakers the day I visited. As you travel through the forest, you might also see vernal pools, beaver ponds, and osprey nests. A wide power-line corridor bisects the property.
From the main gate, at the end of West Hill Road, a gravel road (colored orange on my map) extends all the way to the power lines and about 0.6 miles beyond before petering out (for a total distance of about 2 miles). A variety of lesser roads and paths branch away from this road, ranging from multi-use trails to barely discernible paths marked with hiking tape. There are more trails here than what I have marked on my map — it is a good place to explore, perhaps ideally in winter when you don’t have to deal with mud, puddles, or ticks!
In the springtime, expect wet sections, and in the summer, you’ll be exposed to the sun — there isn’t much shade on the wide logging roads. Additionally, I am not sure how often the trails are maintained, or if they are at all, so you might encounter rough conditions and paths that have become overgrown and no longer exist.
The walking on the east side is relatively flat, with short, steepish descents to the stream’s edge. On the west side, you’ll skirt Downs Hill, so there’s a slight descent as you head into the forest. The walk along the main gravel road is nice — along with seeing Marsh Stream, it was my favorite part of the visit. This forest has a lot of potential for hikers; it would be great if there were more marked paths down to and along the stream. Perhaps someone will create them in the future! (I have marked in yellow a potential path that might extend to the stream, but I ran out of time to check it out.)
Directions: You can park at the end of West Hill Road, a dead-end street off of Loggin Road. Additionally, there’s a wide shoulder that can accommodate a few cars on Hamm Road, at the sharp bend in the road.
