(Note: I have edited the
below content from http://www.greenwoodlands.org/home/recreationaluse.html.)
The Green Woodlands offer outdoor enthusiasts opportunities for four-season wilderness fun. Green Woodlands is a thirty-five square mile wilderness area only fifteen miles from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The owners generously allow free use of the property for hiking, mountain biking, and cross country skiing. There are over 80 miles of well-marked hiking and XC skiing trails.
PLEASE respect and appreciate the opportunity the Green Woodlands Foundation is providing us. If you go to the Green Woodlands, I strongly suggest you first read the content in their web site – and of course read all post signs. A good policy for any outdoor enthusiast is to “leave the area better than you found it.”
The Green Woodlands offer outdoor enthusiasts opportunities for four-season wilderness fun. Green Woodlands is a thirty-five square mile wilderness area only fifteen miles from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The owners generously allow free use of the property for hiking, mountain biking, and cross country skiing. There are over 80 miles of well-marked hiking and XC skiing trails.
PLEASE respect and appreciate the opportunity the Green Woodlands Foundation is providing us. If you go to the Green Woodlands, I strongly suggest you first read the content in their web site – and of course read all post signs. A good policy for any outdoor enthusiast is to “leave the area better than you found it.”
Today the Outdoor
Recreation for Seniors (ORFS) hike along Cummins Pond and cross its outlet streams. We brought lunches and ate while dangling our legs on a wooden bridge above
a bubbling mountain stream.
Green Woodlands allow
the public on the vast majority of their property, with only about 20
acres restricted for their privacy. This
area is clearly marked, and I am sure you agree that this is a very reasonable
request.
Allowing the public onto our property is always a balancing act. We allow many uses of the property but there are some uses that just do not coexist well with our version of connecting to nature. We therefore are very strict about not allowing motorized wheeled vehicles onto the property. This prohibition includes 4 wheelers, motorcycles, cars, and trucks. We also do not allow camping, parking of campers or motor homes or camp fires and grilling of any kind. We appreciate your assistance with these requests.
Green Woodlands Foundation is a
multi-generational family organization with a goal of preserving a little piece
of nature for many future generations. Through their foundation their primary
activities are wildlife management and environmental research and education,
historical preservation, and events that get people out into the woods such as
hiking, paddling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and mountain biking. They currently have land under forest
management in the towns of Lyme, Dorchester, Orford and Wentworth, New
Hampshire. The property has eight remote ponds with the largest being Cummins
Pond at approximately 160 acres.
In 2009 a fellow outdoor friend
and I had an adventure in locating Cummins Pond. At this time this pristine location was an
isolated and extremely difficult place to access with a vehicle carrying
kayaks. We reached the Pond on a Class
6 road that had boulders galore in the road and potholes extreme. Traversing
the road with my Jeep required my friend to walk in front of my vehicle to
insure the Jeep did not bottom out. It
took nearly an hour to reach the put-in on the southern end of the Pond. This
trip was well worth our effort.
Finally with ORFS leaders
John and Judy, I returned to Cummins Pond – this time for a trail hike while
keeping an eye open for a way to access Cummins Pond with kayaks. On the hike I met one of the owners and inquired
about an access to Cummins Pond with kayaks. She pointed out a less challenging
drive for my Jeep to reach Cummins Pond for kayaking.
Hiking and Trail Running
Hiking and trail running
are welcome on any of the Greenwood Land trails during non-winter months. The owners ask hikers and runners not walk or
run on the groomed cross country ski trails during the winter.
Maps
At the intersections of
the majority of ski and bike trails there are 24" by 36" map kiosks
to show “You are here.” You can
also download geo-referenced ski and bike trail maps on this site.
There are also brochures with maps located in
most parking areas.
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK:
We are fortunate that New Hampshire has very strong laws limiting landowner
liability when they allow the public to use their property. Without this
release of liability most of the trails and millions of acres of private
property that are used by the public for recreational purposes such as this
would be closed. This is just a reminder that you enter this property “AT
YOUR OWN RISK”.
Signs and brochures warn
that you should use this property with an understanding that there are
hazardous spots; bare spots, ice, changing snow, bumps, rocks, trees, moose,
grooming equipment, getting lost, snowmobiles, dogs, and other hazards exist.
You must recognize such dangers, whether marked or unmarked, and realize that falls
and collisions are common, and injuries may result. By entering this property,
you accept the hazards and dangers of injury incident, including negligence and
carelessness on the part of others.
Green Woodlands post
signs saying they have no have trail guards or monitors and they do not perform
an end of day sweep of the trails. In other words, this is wilderness property
and we all have to be responsible for ourselves. Note there is almost no cell
service out here. Amen.
Directions
Directions from New
London, NH: Take Interstate 89 North to exit 18. Follow Route 120 North to
Hanover then bear right onto Route 10 North and follow about 9 miles North into
Lyme. After passing the Lyme Green, bear right onto Dorchester Road toward the
Dartmouth Skiway. Just before the
Dartmouth Skiway, turn left to continue on Dorchester. Dorchester Road is a dirt
road from here on. Follow the road to the end and there is a large parking lot
on the left. There is a sign with trail
maps at the parking lot.
References
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Steve's 6th book is now available. Outdoor Play "Fun 4 Seniors" Volume III has trip preparations, routes, and narratives of bucket list places to go. Motivate friends and family to make the outdoors a key component of their daily life.
Steve’s books are also available as hardcopy and e-Books at Kindle and Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH.
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