QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size:
- Trail Mileage: 2 miles in loop
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy
- Sights: Deering Pond, small stand of native rhododendron
Trails in orange are on the Hall Environmental Reserve; trails in blue are the Sanford-Springvale Rail Trail; trails in green are part of the McKeon Reserve (which appears to be in development).
The Hazen Carpenter Trail on this Mousam Way Land Trust reserve was one of the better educational trails I’ve walked along. Not only is it pretty—the 1-mile trail takes you through woods, along old stone walls, and around a pond—but someone knowledgeable about natural history has written a series of elegant facts about different aspects of the land. These write-ups are hidden in little wooden boxes you flip open to read as you make your way along the trail.
The Hazen Carpenter Trail connects to the six-mile Sanford-Springvale Rail Trail and another access trail on the Hall Environmental Reserve, so you can do a roughly 2-mile loop around Deering Pond.
The pond is surrounded by conservation land; it’s probably beautiful in all seasons. The land trust describes it “as a tea colored, bog pond with floating mats of dwarf shrubs and sphagnum moss.” The trail circumnavigating it is a popular spot for walkers; there were many out on a recent weekday.
Directions: The best place to park is at the Rail Trail trailhead off Hanson Ridge Road, about 0.3 miles from the intersection with Blanchard Road. There is also a little driveway off of Deering Neighborhood Road that is not plowed in the winter.
