Posted on September 3, 2018 and last updated on November 30, 2020

Town Forest Trail, Shapleigh

QUICK TRAIL FACTS

  • Preserve Size: Not sure
  • Trail Mileage: 1.6 miles one way
  • Pets: yes
  • Difficulty: difficult to find path
  • Sights: Harvested areas, woods

The area had been heavily logged when I visited in 2018. But there are detailed directions on how to follow the trail here.

The route, which begins off Route 11, starts on a narrow, overgrown trail. This section is blazed, albeit it doesn’t appear to be well used. At roughly .4 miles, you come out on Great Hollow Road, which is a rough ATV/logging track. Here the going gets a bit tricky. Take a left on this road, and walk approximately .25 miles. Look very carefully for a faded green blaze on a tree on your right. There is a broken Healthy Walks sign behind it. If you come to a wider track on your right, you’ve gone a bit too far.

Once you find the path, you’ll be able to follow it by looking for the faded green blazes — they can be hard to see in spots. Eventually you’ll come out on the paved Town Farm Road. If you want to attempt the final leg of the one-way trail, you can cross Town Farm Road to another logged area. When I visited, someone had tied up pink tags on a few trees, but it was still difficult to find the way. And also a little sad, since the area has been so aggressively harvested.

If you want to swim after, there’s a pretty public beach on Square Pond. 

Directions: The best place to pick up the trail is on Route 11, rather than from the trailheads off Square Pond Road.

Let me know if you have any trail updates or corrections!