Horse Meadows Knoll, Harvard

Horse Meadows Knoll, Harvard

Sudbury Valley Trustees Harvard, Massachusetts 01451

Official Website
Horse Meadows Knoll map

About this Location

Horse Meadows Knoll is a very recent addition to the conservation land inventory at Harvard. A joint partnership between Sudbury Valley Trustees, who manages the property, and Harvard Conservation Trust, who owns the property. Parking lot and kiosk at the trail entrance.

The trail begins at a chained gate. Very shortly up the trail, it splits to form a loop. For a counterclockwise loop, the trail leads steeply up a former driveway that leads to the summit of the knoll where until 2017 a house once stood. From this point, take care to follow the yellow plastic markers on trees. The trail then continues north past the former house site and wraps around the knoll to the west following an old cart path. The cart path ends at the bottom of the hill and becomes a footpath. The main trail heads south around the west side of the knoll through a hardwood forest toward a vernal pool that drains into the beautiful Horse Meadows Knoll reservoir. Along the reservoir edge, there are rocky outcroppings from which to spy the varied bird species found in the area. A new bypass then veers to the left (follow the yellow markers) since the original woods road enters some very wet stretches due to beaver activity, which can be seen along the east shore of the reservoir. The trail then descends back to the more obvious trail which then turns southeast, then east to rejoin the entrance spur.

Notable Trails

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at Horse Meadows Knoll.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Official Website

Last updated December 13, 2023