We are so pleased to announce the Cheshire Walkers schedule for Spring 2025 - join us! Please see below for the schedule. This group is free and open to the public.
NOTES:
Please arrive to the walk location by 9:15am, walks will begin at 9:30am.
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.
For this season, we will not be meeting walkers at the Department of Public Works in Keene. Hikers are welcome to meet on their own and carpool and our team will meet you at the trailheads.
To sign up for a walk, please click here and fill out the online form.
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. This season is slightly paired back from years past. We wanted to focus on delivering some unique hikes with knowledgeable hike leaders, and ensuring we have the staff on hand to walk safely.
Spring walks
Date: 05/06/25
Location: Chelsea Meadow at the Devan Preserve, Marlborough
Walk leader: Janine Marr
Additional staff member on the walk: Pete Throop
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: Chelsey Meadow is an easy walk (about a mile each way) on the class 6 portion of Underwood Road (past Meetinghouse Pond). The meadow is fed by Shaker Brook and is under active management by beavers. Visitors enjoy the view of Mt. Monadnock from the bench at the edge of the meadow. The hemlock forest south of the bench will be thinned during the summer of 2025 to regenerate trees and improve beaver habitat.
Round-trip distance: 2 miles
Breathing: Easy
Footing: Easy
Directions: From Keene, take 101 to Marlborough south onto 124 Jaffrey Road. Right after the intersection of Troy Road (right) and Frost Hill Road (left), turn left on Underwood Road. Follow the dirt road past the first Meetinghouse Pond Sanctuary parking area to the boat launch parking area. (The first parking area can be used for additional cars as needed.)
Date: 05/13/25
Location: Tippin' Rock, Swanzey
Walk leader: Alex Metzger
Additional staff member on the walk: Kate Sullivan
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: Come for the gorgeous views, stay to learn the secret technique for making a massive glacial erratic boulder sway with your bare hands! We’ll walk from a sunny hayfield through a hemlock forest and on to the top of Hewes Hill, passing the iconic rock along the way. Though the climb to the Rock is steadily uphill, it is scarcely 0.7 miles (one way), and the footpath itself is smooth.
Round-trip distance: 1.8 miles
Breathing: Moderate
Footing: Moderate
Directions: From Keene, take Route 12 south and turn right on Route 32 (Old Homestead Highway) toward the Keene Airport. Pass the airport and continue south on Route 32 through the traffic circle, passing Monadnock High School. Turn right on to Warmac Road 3.4 miles after the traffic circle. The trailhead is 0.5 miles ahead on the left, opposite Chebaco Kennels. (Note: Parking is limited to a few spaces in front of the gate and along the road)
Date: 05/20/25
Location: Bennett Town Forest, Richmond
Walk leader: Richard Pendleton/Dick Drew
Additional staff member on the walk: Lindsay Taflas
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: The Monadnock Conservancy preserved the Town of Richmond's Bennett Town Forest in 2003. The 305 acre property includes historical cellar holes of the Ellis and Martin homesteads as well as the Ellis Cemetery. In our 2.7 mile easy to moderate walk of woods roads, Dick Drew, Licensed Land Surveyor and Monadnock Conservancy Board Member, will show us these historical sites and share what he has learned about the occupants of these 18th and 19th century homesteads.
Round-trip distance: 2.7 miles
Breathing: Moderate
Footing: Moderate
Directions: From Keene, take Main Street south to Route 12 South (straight through the lights at Route 101) to bear right on Route 32 South. Continue on Route 32 South through Swanzey and Richmond for about 12 miles. After crossing Route 119 in Richmond, Bennett Town Forest will be about 1.6 miles on your right. It is the first right after Lasalette Ln (also on the right) at a sign for the Harry J. Bennett Town Forest. Turn down the driveway (Bullock Road) and the parking lot will be on your left in about 250 feet.
Date: 05/27/25
Location: Glover's ledge, Langdon
Walk leader: Anne McBride
Additional staff member on the walk: Lacy Gillotti
Will staff meet walkers to carpool: No
Description: Glover's Ledge is a 76-acre property located in Langdon that Antioch University New England owns and the Monadnock Conservancy holds a conservation easement on. Glover’s Ledge provides research and recreation opportunities for Antioch students and is open to the public. We'll do a loop hike that is about 1.5 miles that will involve going uphill.
Round-trip distance: 1.5 miles
Breathing: Moderate
Footing: Moderate to hard
Directions: Start by heading north on Route 12 out of Keene towards Walpole. While on Route 12, drive past the turnoff for downtown Walpole and past the commerce district/Shaw’s Plaza in North Walpole. Turn Right on Route 123 (Whitcomb Road) towards the towns of Drewsville and Alstead. There is an Aubuchon Hardware on the corner which makes this turn easy to locate. Continue past the Drewsville General Store (Route 123 takes a slight bend left after the store) until you reach a flashing yellow light. Route 123 will turn to the right, but you will drive straight on the Cheshire Turnpike. One mile ahead, on the right, at the big, white barn, you will have reached Glover’s Ledge. The parking area will be just past the barn on your right. Other landmarks that will help you know you have arrived are a white fence which marks off the property and Hubbard Farms, a chicken farm, is across the street. If you reach Great Brook Forest Products, or the Langdon Covered Bridge, you’ve gone too far.