Once it's gone...

Volunteers Dedicated to Preserving the Wapack Trail

directions

Q & A

Trail Guides / Maps

Newsletters

photos

links

Trail Guide updates

Trail Maintenance info

maps

Donate via PayPal

The Friends maintain the following trails:

Wapack Trail
Cliff Trail
Raymond Trail
Marion Davis Trail
Berry Pasture Trail
Kidder Mt. Trail
State Line Trail
Spruce Knoll Trail

Courtesy on the Trail

Foot travel welcome

Leave NO trace

Be quiet near houses

Stay on blazed trails

Respect trailside property

Park cars so others can pass

Dogs on leash and only where allowed

Once it's gone... Once it's gone
it's gone forever.

      


Wapack Range from Mt. Watatic - Photo by John Callahan

Home About Us Events Contact Us / Join

Wapack Notices!
 

Trail Relocation at Turnpike Road
 The Wapack Trail has been relocated on the south side of Turnpike Road in New Ipswich. From Turnpike Road the trail route now goes up the Windblown driveway and continues along the western border of the Windblown Cross Country Ski Area property. The Friends of the Wapack wish to thank the Jenks family for providing for the relocation of the Wapack Trail through their property. Please respect their wishes by not parking on their property and by staying on the marked Wapack Trail route. There are many intersecting ski trails, so please look for the yellow triangles and directional signs at each intersection to stay on the Wapack Trail. Winter hikers are required to purchase a ski area pass available at the Lodge when the ski area is open.
 Download the relocation trail map with directions by clicking here.

Help Protect our Trees!

The NH Division of Forests and Lands requests our help stop the spread of destructive exotic insects like the Asian Longhorn Beetle in our area. Please download and print out the flyer they have provided us and take it with you on the trail as a reference. The flyer includes instructions on how to report your findings. You can download the flyer by clicking here. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this PDF file. Thank You!!

The Wapack Trail

In 1923, Frank Robbins and Marion Buck (Davis) of Rindge, NH, saw a dream come true: the establishment of the 21-mile Wapack Trail from Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, MA, to North Pack in Greenfield, NH, passing through sections of Ashburnham and Ashby, MA, and New Ipswich, Temple, Sharon, Peterborough and Greenfield, NH. The Wapack Trail, a day-use trail for foot travel, is one of the oldest interstate trails in the Northeast. For the most part, the trail follows a skyline route along the summits of Watatic, Pratt, New Ipswich, Barrett and Temple mountains, then ascends the Pack Monadnocks. Yellow triangles on trees and rocks blaze the Wapack. Cairns mark the trail along bare stony sections and summits. Seven miles of side trails also provide an opportunity for exploration and spectacular scenery, including the side trail to Kidder Mountain.

Open ledges and rocky peaks provide breathtaking views of Mount Monadnock, the Berkshires and the Green Mountains to the west, Boston to the southeast, and the White Mountains to the north. The spruce forests lining parts of the trail give hikers the feeling of being deep in the North Woods.

In spring and summer, wildflowers are everywhere - as well as blueberries! In fall, the countryside is ablaze with color. Wildlife includes beaver, moose, fox, rabbit, partridge, migratory birds and sometimes wild turkey. In winter, snowshoeing and ski mountaineering are outstanding.

The trail passes old homesteads, goes through state forests, Miller State Park, the Wapack National Wildlife Refuge, crosses the NH/MA state line and the Boston Post Road constructed in 1753. The site of the Wapack Lodge, built by Robbins and Davis and once a leading center for skiing during the 1920's and '30's, is seen off the trail in New Ipswich.

Trailwrights

We are greatly indebted to Trailwrights, Inc. for training in trail maintenance, help with trail layout and relocations, and help with heavy trail work. THANK YOU!!

 

Friends of the Wapack
P.O. Box 115
West Peterborough, NH
03468
info@wapack.org

"It would evidently be a noble walk from Watatic to Goffstown perchance, over the Peterboro mountains, along the very backbone of this part of New Hampshire, - the most novel and interesting walk that I can think of in these parts."
- Henry David Thoreau, Journal report on his final trip to Mt. Monadnock, August 9,1860

Thank you to Lemonade.Net
Internet hosting and consulting services
Their generosity has made our website possible!