Naturally Southborough

Monthly MA wildlife magazine

Sudbury River Watershed Organization

Southborough Open Land Foundation                      Southborough Recreation

Are you looking for a new outdoor location to explore? Don't want to travel too far from Southborough? Then try the new Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Hudson, Marlboro, Stow and Maynard which is a part of the larger Eastern MA Wildlife Refuge Complex. Two other close by refuges are the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge with headquarters along the Sudbury River at Weir Hill in nearby Sudbury and the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge along the Nashua River in Harvard, MA.  Click Friends the Friends of the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge to find out more about the walks and how to volunteer.  Click the Eastern MA Wildlife Refuges for the other seven wildlife refuges in Eastern MA to find out their events, links and maps.

Sudbury Valley Trustees is happy to announce that thanks to the generous support of Wayland Whole Foods, a new Interpretive Trail Map of Wolbach Farm, SVT’s headquarter property, is now available. This beautiful area along the Sudbury River is part of the Great Meadows ecosystem. It offers a diversity of woods, wetlands and fields for exploration. So please wander in and explore, with our new trail map as your guide.

Information on outings and SVT properties are available on SVT’s website at www.svtweb.org.

Hopkinton State Park

November 21, 2007 - by Linda Hubley.  Southborough residents are lucky to have several state parks in close proximity.  To the north near the Pine Hill section of town is the Callahan State Park.  Ashland has the Ashland State Park just outside the center of town and Hopkinton has Whitehall State Park which is basically a boat launch for Lake Whitehall and some hiking trails along the perimeter.  Hopkinton State Park oversees Whitehall and Ashland State Parks and the Upton State Forest.  Hopkinton State Park is just across the Sudbury River from Southborough.  It is a 1450 acre state park that offers swimming, fishing, canoeing, sailing, hiking, picnicking, non-motorized boating, snowmobile, Cross Country Ski  and horseback riding trails.  Many of the trails connect with each other and provide easy to moderate hiking terrain.  The Long trail runs through the woods parallel to the main entrance road all the way down to the lower swim area.  This trail has some steep climbs and descents along its path.  The trail also interconnects with the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Aikens Property that runs along the Sudbury River to the north of the park. Although many people think that the Hopkinton State Park is just on the East side of Route 85 where the reservoir, road system and buildings are they would be pleasantly surprised to know that further down route 85 is the park headquarters and the majority of parkland. Although mostly undeveloped on the west side of Route 85, the trails system can offer a variety of terrain.  One minute you could be down on the banks of Indian Brook that feeds the reservoir and the next minute you could be on top of one of the rock cliffs or crags that were left by ancient glaciers.  The forest changes from hemlock, black birch and maples to oaks and white pine.  As it is not developed and comprises about 1,000 acres of undeveloped land it would be wise for the novice hiker to bring along a compass and map. click here for Hopkinton State Park trail maps and information and for further information on Massachusetts State Parks.

The foliage is brilliant and it's time to get up and start hiking around town to view the scenery.  Several areas of town have places to hike.  There is the Breakneck Hill Conservation Land with parking area on Breakneck Hill Road. At Walnut Street is a small lot for access to the Town forest and the Turenne Wildlife  Habitat.  On Chestnut Hill there is the Chestnut Hill Farm.  At the cul'dsac at Red Gate are several acres of Beal's family property that was donated.  Off Pine Hill Road is a 2.5 mile reservoir trail that is part of the Bay Circuit trail.  However, there is a newer reservoir trail that was done as an Eagle Scout project several years ago.  It runs from just east of East Main Street and Framingham Road to Northborough Road.  It follows the reservoir segments and part of the open channel aqueduct.  The colors are striking along the path. Caution should be used when hiking the path though as it hasn't been maintained this year.  The brush is high and this is the start  of tick season. For more information and maps on the Sudbury Reservoir trails click :      http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/sudbury.htm

Southborough's Wildlife Collection

Woodchuck

White-tailed Deer

Gray Fox

Opossum

Rabbit

Turkey

Gray Squirrel

Coyote

Red Squirrel

Red Fox

Chestnut Hill Farm

Our next hike is to the Chestnut Hill Farm property on Chestnut Hill Road. In 2006, the Town of Southborough purchased a conservation restriction to 108 acres of the farm. The property was officially opened to residents on June 20, 2006. Through private donations Sudbury Valley Trustees and the Southborough Open Land Foundation, monies from the CPA funds and administered through the Southborough Community Preservation Committee, and a Massachusetts State Self-Help grant and the voters of Southborough the ultimate goal of preserving the farmland succeeded. With the purchase of the CR for the Beal’s Chestnut Hill Farm, the Beals family then turned around and donated a conservation restriction with the Sudbury Valley Trustees for a parcel on the southside of Route 30 from the farm for another 55 acres. Recently the Sudbury Valley Trustees retained another 13 acre Conservation restriction on Parcel B which is north of the main farm and MWRA aqueduct. Another 9 acres on the parcel B property will remain with the Sudbury Valley Trustees and protected through a restrictive covenant.

There is a parking lot for 10 vehicles across from the last farmhouse on Chestnut Hill Road. A hike here is mostly flat or gentle slopes through the dirt road that separates field and pastures from tilled farmland. At the end of the dirt road you must make a decision whether to continue straight down the road toward the MWRA aqueduct or head right along the old stone wall and into the woods. The latter path takes you onto a few loops of trails into the woods. Watch your footing on some of these trails as the path goes over some rocks and tree roots. On my last foray into the woods trail a flock of wild turkeys flew across the path. There are quite a few birds around the morning I was there and I watched a Red Tail Hawk circle the open fields. Because the habitat has open fields, crop fields and woodlands with stonewalls here and there it makes for good edge habitats for the wildlife. The lower loop is a bit hillier than the first loop but takes you deeper into the forest for a nice hike.

You can also connect with a more rugged trail that has been recently cut that runs south parallel to the MWRA aqueduct. This trail is narrower and cuts through the woods. Being a new trail it is not trodden down much at all. On dry leaves the trail can be a bit noisy if you are trying to photograph wildlife. If you take this trail from one of the wooded loop trails, the Aqueduct is on your right off into the woods. A hiker will come out of the trail and onto the traveled dirt road headed south toward the open fields from which you started your walk. At this time, you are asked not to hike across the MWRA Aqueduct but to stay on the trails of the original 108 acres of the Chestnut Hill Farm property. Enjoy your time on the trail and don’t forget to bring a camera.

Welcome to Naturally Southborough. With this page, I intend to introduce you to recreational opportunities within our town and our state. A bit more about myself and why this page is special. I attended traditional high school in the late 60’s, there was little in the way of women to work in the outdoors. I worked retail and office. After several trips out West, I yearned to become a park ranger. Five years after High School graduation I decided to attend college and earn a degree in Forestry/Park Management. After college graduation I worked full time in the Massachusetts State Park service. I worked my way up from a Conservation Helper to in 1981 becoming the State’s first female Forest and Park Supervisor. I retired in 1991 to become a stay-at-home mom. Not to sit in the house I co-started two watershed organizations for the Sudbury River. SWAMP was the first and basically dealt with the Sudbury River within town. It has now morphed to the Sudbury River Watershed Organization and covers all the towns from the headwaters to the Concord River.

Our first stop will be the Breakneck Hill Conservation area. This 88-acre site is sandwiched between Breakneck Hill Road and Woodland Road. There is a hard gravel lot near the southern border off Breakneck Hill Road Originally owned and farmed by Mr. Ray Davis. He raised apples and peach trees along with honeybees and sold his produce at his farmstand on Breakneck Hill Road. Eventually the Town of Southborough would purchase the apple orchard from Mr. Davis in the early 1980's.

There are well-marked paths looping around the property. There is a fairly steep slope to start your climb but once on the trails you will be happy you took those initial steps. As you reach the top it is fairly flat, then will slope down toward a pond and up gentle sloping paths northward toward the highest point on the property. There is a large stone with the directions painted on it and a picnic table. From the grassy knoll is a beautiful view to the Northwest. It overlooks the Town House flagpole and Pilgrim Church steeple and onward toward Mt. Wachusett. The fall colors are spectacular from here. Last year through a restoration project many of the trees that were dead or diseased were removed and natural grasses were planted. There are many apple trees still standing along the western slopes where the Belted Galloways graze from late Spring to late Fall. The remaining orchard is very pretty when the Apple trees blossom. So take a hike and check it out!

If you would like to contribute a piece on your favorite Southborough or Massachusetts recreational spot, please send me the information and a photo of the site and I will consider it for this page.

Audubon is doing their Oriole count. Would you like to participate? Check out http://www.massaudubon.org/oriole/index.php

Southborough Open Land Foundation

Sudbury Valley Trustees

Sudbury River Watershed Organization

Listings for other Open Space organizations

State of Massachusetts & Federal Outdoor Websites

MA Coastal Zone mgt

ArmycorpsEngineers