Gruber Forest

The entrance to the Three Rivers Land Trust preserve shares part of a driveway with the house at 24 Deering Ridge Road, so you will turn in at a mailbox, which feels a bit funny. But as soon as you pull in, you’ll veer right into the parking area for the preserve, with room for four or five vehicles.

The first stop you might want to make is to the beaver pond, about 0.2 miles from the trailhead. It has a couple of sturdy beaver lodges in the center. You can then backtrack and continue along one of two loops. The perimeter loop is about 1 mile.

One of the paths — the “Campground Loop” — follows a wide, flat, level trail along the Mousam River, which you can see through trees. I didn’t see an obvious place to reach the river’s shore, but I bushwhacked a few feet to the water’s edge before the path curves inland (you can see this little jog off the main trail on my map).

All the trails are well marked and easy: the Campground Loop is the easiest — wide and level — while Charlie’s Trail is more of a forest footpath, so a bit more uneven.

On the Campground Loop, you might notice what looks like the base of an old court. Looking at the painted white lines on it, I couldn’t tell what game was once played there! Not that I’m much of a sports aficionado. Or perhaps it was used for something other than a sport?

The land, protected by Three Rivers Land Trust, was donated by Charles Gruber, a founding member of the trust.

Directions: The address is 24 Deering Ridge Road, in Shapleigh. Pull into the driveway and immediately veer right into the parking area.