Trip report
Winter Farm Pastures Hike
Hiking/Walk DATE: 12/28/2013 - 12/28/2013
Trip/Event Location: Concord, NH
US
Trip Leader(s): Gandalf , JDNnh
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Easy
An easy winter hike to relieve holiday stress that passes by three farms! Try out the gear you got for Christmas! This is a 7-mile hike [with car spotting] that passes by three farm
...We are meeting at Carter Hill Orchard farmstand.
From Points South or North
Take I-93 to Exit 15W, go to the end of the exit and take a right (this is North State Street). At the second set of lights (between the Sovereign Bank and Irving Gas Station) take a left onto Penacook Street. Follow road straight fro approximately 4 1/2 miles. Stay to the left of the Vin the road. A half mile later, you'll see Carter Hill Orchard on the left.
From Points West
Take I-89 East to I-93 North. Follow directions above.
From Points East and the Coast
Take either 101 West to 93 North and follow the directions above or take US-4 West, follow signs for I-393/US 202/US-4 West. Continue to follow US-202/US-4 West for approximately 5 miles. Turn right at Daniel Webster Hwy (US-3) and follow for 0.3 miles. Turn left at Penacook St 1.0, continue on to Little Pond Road for 2 miles, continue on Lake View Drive for 0.9 miles. Make a slight left at Carter Hill Rd. After about half a mile, you will see the entrance to Carter Hill Orchard on the left.
Distance/Time
Manchester (23 miles/35 min)
Boston (73 miles/1 hr 25 min)
Nashua (41 miles/55 min)
Portsmouth (63 miles/1 hr, 15 min)
Lowell (55 miles/1 hr, 11 min)
Worcester (98 miles/1 hr, 50 min)
North Conway (84 miles/1 hr, 59 min)
Keene (50 mi/1 hr, 12 min)
Lake Winnipesaukee (30 mi/47 min)
Trip Report/Photos
There is a new connector trail system in Concord. It’s called the West End Farm Trail. It is a 7.5 mile (each way) hike that combines the I-89 bike path near St. Paul’s School and then the conservation easements of 3 local farms: Dimond Hill Farm, Rossview Farm, and Carter Hill Orchard.
We started on the bike path portion by parking at the nearby Audubon Center. From here it was a quick walk up the bike path, under I-89 and into the woods. We saw some mountain bikers pass us by riding in the snow. It appears to be a great section for mountain biking and cross-country skiing.
After 3 miles we popped out at Dimond Hill Farm in one of their pastures with views of the surrounding area. We crossed the road and had lunch at their picnic tables. We then followed the trail through the back portion of their land and down to Currier Road.
After crossing Currier Road we meandered through the woods and came out at the end of District 5 road and onto the property of Rossview farm.
This section passed a frozen beaver created pond, then a larger pond and some of Rossview’s back fields. Except for the woods around Dimond Hill Farm, we hardly saw anyone the entire day.
This section from Rossview to Carter Hill land is pretty meandering and we really felt like we were deep in the woods. It must have been awesome back when this was nothing but pastures. The woods are chock full of stone walls, several old stone foundations, and ponds.
The end of the hike led us right into the back orchards of Carter Hill. We made pretty good time from the start to Carter Hill Orchard: 7.3 miles in 4 hours.
This was an awesome hike using light traction on our boots right here in Concord. No need to travel far to get in a good hike.
You can park in several spots to make this hike anywhere from a 15 mile round trip epic day to just a 2 mile jaunt through the woods.
It would make for a really cross-country ski run too.
So, go check it out, bring some water and light traction.
There are 42 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
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