Wandering through the forest in New Hampshire is a great way to enjoy some time outside. And there are plenty of wooded areas to explore. While many of them will do if you’re trying to find some peace and quiet, we especially love this hike which will show you some of the oldest trees in the state. Huge, stately and impressive you’ll want to do this hike over and over again.
Sheldrick Forest Preserve in Wilton offers a great way to get outside and explore some very old and beautiful trees in the process.
Morgain Bailey / Google The forested area making up the preserve is more than 227 acres and the trees date back so far that it’s safe to say they’ve been around longer than any of us.
Before European settlers arrived forests like this one were able to thrive without much interruption. Walking through the hiking paths here gives a good sense of what things were like back then.
Punita Koustubhan / Google In the mid-1800s, the land was cleared to create room for pastures or to harvest timber.
Exploring the Sheldrick Forest Preserve will allow visitors to see 50-foot-tall white pines, some of the most beautiful hemlocks and huge oaks.
The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire / Facebook In addition to these trees being tall, their diameter is also quite impressive. Some of the trunks have grown to 30 inches. This is likely due to the fact that they’ve been able to grow for such a long time without intrusion.
It truly allows you to understand the impact that human development and interference can have on nature.
Connie Jo Lawson / Google
This preserve also includes a ravine and lots of hidden, bubbling streams
nicholas_t / Flickr And because the area is protected birds like wood thrushes, ovenbirds and scarlet tanagers have been able to thrive.
Old Growth Forests can be found all over the world, including the United States. These are wooded areas that have been allowed to grow without interruption for centuries. A big reason for this is simply being in hard-to-reach locations!
nicholas_t / Flickr
Head to the town of Milford to get to the Sheldrick Forest Preserve. Once there you’ll go west on Route 101 leading you past the center of Wilton. Turn left on Temple Road after you see Gary’s Harvest Restaurant. Drive down Temple Road for about a quarter of a mile and then bear left to cross the bridge. Make another left onto Town Farm Road. In about 3/4 of a mile, you’ll reach the preserve entrance and parking is in a small field on the left.
Morgain Bailey / Google
The forested area making up the preserve is more than 227 acres and the trees date back so far that it’s safe to say they’ve been around longer than any of us.
Punita Koustubhan / Google
In the mid-1800s, the land was cleared to create room for pastures or to harvest timber.
The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire / Facebook
In addition to these trees being tall, their diameter is also quite impressive. Some of the trunks have grown to 30 inches. This is likely due to the fact that they’ve been able to grow for such a long time without intrusion.
Connie Jo Lawson / Google
nicholas_t / Flickr
And because the area is protected birds like wood thrushes, ovenbirds and scarlet tanagers have been able to thrive.
You can learn more about the Sheldrick Forest Preserve by clicking here.
For more outdoor adventures consider this 1-mile hike to Thompson Falls in New Hampshire. It’s short and sweet!
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Address: 26-198 Town Farm Rd, Wilton, NH 03086, USA
