Wagner Woods

ACREAGE: 63 • YEAR ACQUIRED: 2010

Location

Park in the small lot off Great Pond Road, on the south side of the road just east of Great Pond State Forest, or enter from the parking lot at Hall Farm off Old Farms Road.

Distance

1.7 miles of trail.

Terrain

Flat and easy. Occasionally muddy in low lying areas.

Features

This diverse 63-acre property contains a succession forest, wetlands, including several vernal pools, and an eight-acre hayfield, and is home to numerous wildlife species including at least 60 species of birds. The sheltered blue trail ambles through a cool forest of mostly pines, oaks and maples. Numerous stone walls attest to the property’s previous life as a farm. On the northwest corner of the large hayfield there are remnants of the farm building foundations. The nearby stream still shows traces of an old dam. A large population of bluebirds takes advantage of the many houses placed on the edge of the field and red-shouldered hawks are often seen gliding above. Another remnant of farming days is the “two-wagon” wide laneway (orange trail) that leads from the southern end of the field down to Hop Brook. The purple trail (0.3 miles) will take you through a wooded area along the edge of the Hall Farm property to Old Farms Road.

For a longer hike combine Wagner Woods with Great Pond State Forest across Great Pond Road.