You Are Here: Beaver Brook Association

Double header weekend at the same place. My initial attempt at getting all the trails on Saturday fell a little short, which ended up a blessing. I have been to the Beaver Brook Association several times for snowshoe races and one trail race.. but all were several years ago, and on the southern side of the trail network. Beaver Brook is broken into 2 sections, that I've dubbed the Northern and Southern side of Rt 130 in Hollis. I had never been to the northern side and was very pleasantly surprised at how wonderful these trails are. Considering there are no real scenic landmarks, it's just a really well laid out trail network. Well marked, well maintained and just a really pretty natural area. I do feel like some of the areas in the Spring and Summer may become a little overgrown and messy with mud, but I lucked out with weather and conditions this weekend. There was a mixture of snow/ice and bare ground. I kept microspikes on for almost the entire hike. It was easier than taking them off and on. Most of the bare ground involved soft leaves or pine needles so I didn't think it would damage the spikes too badly.. and when I needed them, I was grateful to have them. The icy areas were just that. I had remembered reading another hikers trip report about redlining the entire area in 3 hikes, so I tracked down his old report and basically followed his steps as far as which trails to take in which order. I had been a little overwhelmed trying to figure it out prior to that, so I was thankful to just see where he went and follow suit. Turned out to be a great route. I started at the parking area on Rt 130 at the Dam Road/Wildlife Pond Loop trailhead, 2 trails head off in different directions. I headed down Dam Road then turned onto Jeff Smith Trail and headed into the woods. This was a gorgeous start to my hike. The trail follows a brook most of the way, which was just beautiful. I found there was a lot of greenery still in the area, I don't know vegetation, so I don't know what it was, but the contrast of the green with the snow on the ground and the morning sun shining through the bare trees.. just put me at peace. I followed Jeff Smith Trail all the way to the road, then backtracked to Wood Duck Pond Trail and Tupelo Trail. It wasn't until almost the end of Tupelo Trail that I finally saw some people. I turned onto Old City Trail and followed that to Rocky Pond Road where I was surprised with a lovely waterfall right alongside the trail. Old City Trail was really the only super messy trail the whole day. Some areas were icy and muddy and yuck. The spikes were essential here. From here I turned onto Hatfield Trail West and followed that to the end, where there is a spur to an overlook of Merganser Pond. I stopped here for a snack. I continued back out to Rocky Pond Road and followed Whaleback Road which ended in a residential neighborhood. Back to Hatfield Trail East which looped around. I did an out and back on Hidden Pond Trail, including the spur to the Whaleback Overlook. The rock formation is supposedly reminiscent of an old whale! I could sort of see where they were coming from. It was here that I knew I was getting tired. I had a couple of options and figured I'd continue until the time I'd have to make a decision. Just before that time I encountered another little waterfall area, dubbed The Falls, which was another very pretty surprise! I reached Old City Trail again, which was my "bail" point for Saturday if I decided to do so. It was getting overcast, I was feeling some blisters developing and I just wasn't feeling it anymore. I knew I could have pushed through and done it, but figured I'd come back and enjoy it more on fresh legs. I didn't realize at that time it would be the very next day... it really wasn't until I woke up on Sunday morning that I made the decision to go back and clean up what I missed the day before. What a blessing that turned out to be. I was feeling fresh, the sun was shining and when I got back to my "bail" point on Old City Trail at Rocky Ridge Trail and headed off, I realized I had absolutely made the right decision. Rocky Ridge Trail was just tricky enough that I would have been crying yesterday. A couple very short, but steep up and downs over some glacial erratic's on my tired legs yesterday would not have been fun. Today, I loved it. There were just a couple spots I had to sit and slide down, due to my shortness, but I made it without incident. Rocky Ridge Trail is short at 0.6 miles, but I really cannot stress how grateful I was to be doing it today. I finished out the northern section of trails on the Wildlife Pond Loop trail, which was the complete opposite of Rocky Ridge Trail.. a relatively flat loop around a giant pond, that is frozen right now, but I imagine lives up to its name of "wildlife" in the Spring and Summer! Overall, I ended up with just over 14 miles of hiking and 10 new trails checked off my redlining spreadsheet! I hope the southern side is as pleasant and look forward to exploring there sometime soon.

Strava Activity Saturday Strava Activity Sundayl