We are so pleased to announce the Cheshire Walkers schedule for Fall 2024 - join us! Please see below for the schedule. This group is free and open to the public.
NOTE: Although we love dogs at the Conservancy, we ask that you keep them at home during Cheshire Walkers outings for everyone's safety and comfort.
To sign up for a walk, please click here and fill out the online form.
Because parking is limited at many of our destinations, we ask that participants carpool whenever possible. To share a ride to the trailhead, please meet in the parking lot outside the Keene Department of Public Works/Keene Ice rink/Police Department (350 Marlboro St.) in time for a prompt 9:00 departure. Conservancy staff will help coordinate on some, but not all, mornings. If you are coming from downtown, turn left on Bartholomew Court after Butterfly Park, then take the first right into the first block of parking spaces.
For more information, contact Kate Sullivan at kate@monadnockconservancy.org.
Background
The Conservancy assumed leadership of the Cheshire Walkers in the fall of 2022. Originally founded and run by Cheshire Medical Center for decades, the Cheshire Walkers is a walking and hiking group for people of most abilities, with an emphasis on seniors and others who might prefer an easier pace. The walks provide an opportunity to exercise the body and the brain, offering participants spirited social interaction and opportunities to learn about the nature they are experiencing.
Fall walks
Date: 9/17/24
Location: Converse Meadow Ridge
Walk leader: Alex Metzger
Staff member on the walk: Lindsay Taflas & Alex Metzger
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: Converse Meadow features an historic pre-Revolutionary mill site and dam where flour, lumber, boxes, and shingles were produced from the 1760s to the 1930s. Though few signs of the mills remain, the property is now host to an easy 1.5-mile loop trail that follows the shore of Converse Meadow Pond and related wetlands. The Town of Rindge purchased the property in 2004 to prevent the land from being developed, and a conservation easement held by the Monadnock Conservancy further ensures Converse Meadow will remain open space in perpetuity.
Round-trip distance: 1.5 miles
Breathing: Easy
Footing: Easy
Directions: From Keene, take Route 12 south to Fitzwilliam and turn east on Route 119 to Rindge. Cross Route 202 and continue east for approximately 3.3 miles. Turn left on Converseville Road, then left again at the T intersection. The trailhead parking area, marked by a kiosk, is the second driveway on the right. (Note: Parking is limited, maybe 5-6 cars). https://g.co/kgs/SmZzLfX
Date: 9/24/24
Location: Eliza Adams Gorge
Walk leader: Anne McBride
Staff member on the walk: Martin Royle
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: Yes
Description: For this hike, we will walk 1.2 miles on the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail to Eliza Adams Gorge. It is an out and back hike totaling 2.4 miles. We will walk through a property that the Conservancy owns called the Gertrude Russell Forest. We will also pass by Leighton State Forest. The gorge is on private land that the Conservancy holds a conservation easement on. The gorge is at the outlet of Howe Reservoir where there is a dam. We'll cross the town line from Dublin into Harrisville.
Round-trip distance: 2.4 miles
Breathing: Moderate
Footing: Moderate
Directions: Because there is not sufficient room for everyone to park at the trailhead, we will plan to meet at a parking area on the south side of Route 101 just west of the junction with Charcoal Road. The parking area is near a waterbody that is part of Howe Reservoir. From there we will get into as few cars as possible and drive to the trailhead, which is nearby. From the intersection of Optical Avenue and Route 101 in Keene, head east on Rte 101 for 8.3 miles (through Marlborough and across the Dublin Town line) and the parking area will be on your right. If you get to the intersection with Charcoal Road, you've gone too far. The parking area is just before the intersection. https://g.co/kgs/3mEEpMd
Date: 10/1/24
Location: TBD
Walk leader:
Staff member on the walk:
Will staff meet walkers to carpool:
Description:
Round-trip distance:
Breathing:
Footing:
Directions:
Date: 10/8/24
Location: Haley Conservation Easement, Spofford
Walk leader: Richard Pendleton
Staff member on the walk: Lacy Gillotti
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: We will walk the trails on Craig and Beth's private land, which is under a conservation easement held by the Monadnock Conservancy. We will hike to a Hindu Ganesha Temple built in 1975 by the former landowners and their friend who served in the Peace Corp in India. The forested land includes the headwaters of the California Brook watershed, that feed into the Ashuelot River in Swanzey, NH. The rolling topography is dissected by water drainages left after the last ice-age and a there is a small, excavated pond. The forest includes northern red oak, eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, and northern hardwoods (beech, birch, maple). A diversity of ferns grows here, and black bear, bobcat, coyote, white-tail deer, porcupine, wild turkey, grey and red squirrel, and eastern cottontail have been seen; winter tracks include moose and fisher. Craig is a retired forestry professor and Beth is a research scientist – plant pathologist with Bartlett Tree Experts. Expect to learn about the history and features of the property, how to identify some of the trees and plants, and forest and tree health
Round-trip distance: 2 miles
Breathing: Moderate
Footing: Moderate to hard
Directions: Please carpool if possible to 460 Atherton Hill Rd, Spofford, NH 03462. From the Winchester Street traffic circle at Route 9/10/101 in Keene, travel west 3.5 miles to the base of Chesterfield Hill and turn left (south) off route 9 onto Chesterfield Road. Travel on Chesterfield Road (becomes Cady Lane) 1.4 miles and turn left onto Lincoln Road. Travel on Lincoln Road up the hill 0.9 miles (asphalt becomes gravel and becomes Atherton Hill Road) to a blue house on the left and park in the driveway. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Q4BF9x7tQTnZsDkV8
Date: 10/15/24
Location: High Blue/Warner Forest, Walpole
Walk leader: Ryan Owens
Staff member on the walk: Martin Royle
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: Yes
Description: Walpole is known for its farms, but its forests are beautiful, too. These properties, owned by the Society for the Protection of NH Forests and the Town of Walpole, respectively, feature views of the Green Mountains and the highest point in the town, all connected by a trail through rolling forest and mossy glades.
Round-trip distance: 2.5 miles
Breathing: Moderate
Footing: Moderate to hard
Directions: From downtown Keene, take Court Street north to the Maple Ave./Route 12A traffic circle, where Court Street becomes Old Walpole Road. Continue straight on Old Walpole Road 5.8 miles, then turn right on Crehore Road. At the T intersection, turn left on Merriam Road, then take the next right on Scovill Road. Continue 0.4 miles to where Scovill Road becomes unmaintained, just before the large TV antenna. There is no designated parking, so park anywhere out of the way, including beneath the TV antenna, taking care not to block driveways or gates. Parking is limited, so please carpool. https://maps.app.goo.gl/bqQhM5UyR63LEWBUA
Date: 10/22/25
Location: Mattabeseck Wildlife Corridor, Rindge
Walk leader: Alex Metzger
Staff member on the walk: Lindsay Taflas
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: Mattabeseck Wildlife Corridor is a 228 parcel of mostly undeveloped land located at 538 Old New Ipswich Road which was formerly part of Rindge Stone & Gravel. The land was purchased by the Town of Rindge, NH in 2022 with funding from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. The Town of Rindge Conservation Commission selected the Abenaki word Mattabeseck, meaning “land between the waters”, as the property sits at the watershed divide between the Contoocook and Millers Rivers.
Round-trip distance: 1.5 miles
Breathing: Easy
Footing: Easy
Directions: From Keene, follow Rt. 12 south to Fitzwilliam (about 13 miles), turn left into Rt. 119 in Fitzwilliam, and follow for 10.3 miles. Turn left on Cathedral Road and follow for 1.7 miles. Turn right onto Shawhill Rd and follow for 0.7 miles, turn left onto Old New Ipswich Rd and continue 0.9 miles to the parking lot on the right. https://maps.app.goo.gl/dJ6HPg5NMD4JCdxD8