From Putney Hill Road, near the intersection with Old Putney Hill Road, there are several trails that provide links to other trails and/or low-traffic roads with good walking terrain. Putney Hill, located at the geographic center of Hopkinton, was originally planned as the town center. Although the town center was later moved to what is now Hopkinton Village, a number of historic sites remain on Putney Hill. Historic plaques mark the location of the Putney Hill Garrison and cellar holes of the first parsonage and the home of Hopkinton’s first doctor. The historic Putney Hill Cemetery is a short walk from the intersection of Putney Hill and Old Putney Hill Roads.
Directions:
There is limited parking for several cars at the end of Putney Hill Road near the intersection with Route 103 and Gould Hill Road. The trails are a short walk from there. A possible future plan is to have a trailhead parking lot on Old Putney Hill Road that will be convenient to these trails. Stay tuned!
Walking times:
Putney Hill – Greenway Connector: approximately .5 miles and about 10 minutes
First Parsonage Trail: approximately .5 miles to Dolly Road and about 10 minutes
Putney Hill – Hopkinton Village Greenway Connector
This trail connects Putney Hill Road, just north of its intersection with Old Putney Hill Road, to the Hopkinton Village Greenway, approximately .4 miles south from Hopkinton Road/Route 103. Marked with blue blazes, the trail crosses an open field on privately owned land and along stone walls to Town-owned property known as the “Aqueduct Lot”, previously a well-field for the Hopkinton Village Precinct. Along this section of the trail, recent logging opened a view to the northeast. The trail continues downhill to where it connects with the Hopkinton Village Greenway.
First Parsonage Trail
This is an old town road, now Class VI, which begins on the west side of Putney Hill Road near the historic marker and cellar hole designating the site of Hopkinton’s First Parsonage, located approximately .4 miles south of Hopkinton Road/Route 103. It is a short and pleasant downhill walk to Dolly Road. Many folks use this trail as a loop walk or fitness run which includes other routes on town roads or the trail network on Putney Hill Road which heads east to the Hopkinton Village Greenway or west to Cross Road toward Contoocook Village.
The Greenway Connection to Putney Hill and Dolly Road trail map and the Putney – Cross trail map are shown below. Please click the text or image links to open/download/print the PDF maps.
Riverway Park, located in the center of Contoocook Village, provides river access for kayaks, canoes and rowboats. The park is a hub of activity during warmer months when it is the site of a Saturday morning Farmer’s Market. During the summer, the town’s Recreation Department hosts musical events in the Lewellen Bandstand.
The historic Contoocook Railroad Depot is adjacent to the park and includes the Depot Visitor Center, a 1907 vintage passenger coach, a late 1800’s section house, and the world’s oldest surviving covered railroad bridge. More information about the Contoocook Railroad Depot can be found at https://www.contoocookdepot.org/.
The Little Tooky Trail begins in Riverway Park and connects through the Contookcook Cemetery to the trailhead on Little Tooky Road.
Parking is available in the town lot next to the bandstand.
The Hopkinton Conservation Commission collaborated with Five Rivers Conservation Trust in 2019 to permanently protect this 55-acre farm field in the center of Contoocook Village, located behind Dimitri’s restaurant and Colonial Plaza. The field, which is owned by the Houston family as part of its Pine Lane Farm, is permanently restricted from development by a conservation easement held by Five Rivers Conservation Trust.
The field contains prime farm land soils and nearly one mile of frontage on the Contoocook and Warner Rivers. It has the added benefit of being in the center of Contoocook village, across from the town’s Riverway Park and next to Contoocook’s iconic covered bridge. Keeping this agricultural land open and productive is important to maintaining Contoocook’s rural character. Together with the conservation easement on Bohanan Farm, over five miles of contiguous river frontage has been protected on the Contoocook, Blackwater and Warner Rivers.
Public access will be permitted on a seasonal basis to avoid conflicts with farming operations. Parking is available in Contoocook Village.
The Little Tooky Trail, on the Rollins Lot, was built in 2019 as a collaborative effort between the Hopkinton Conservation Commission and Boy Scout Troop 77.
The trail, which can be accessed from a parking area .2 miles down Little Tooky Road, is a 1-mile loop through an oak-pine forest. Walkers can find evidence of past farming and pasture land in abandoned farm equipment and old sheep fencing.
A recent logging operation created openings where raspberries and blueberries abound. The trail connects to the abandoned track of the Concord-Claremont Railroad line that went from Concord to the tip of Lake Sunapee.
For a longer walk, start at the gazebo in Riveryway Park and follow the Little Tooky Trail signs through the Village and the Contoocook cemetery to the trailhead on Little Tooky Trail. Visit the Depot Museum at Riverway Park to learn more about the historic Concord-Claremont line.
Walking Times:
From trailhead on Little Tooky Road: 1 mile, 30 minutes
From Riverway Park: 2.5 miles, 1 to 1-1/4 hour
The Little Tooky trail map is shown below. Please click the text or image link to open/download/print the PDF map.
The Sweatt Preserve Nature Trail is located alongside Old Stagecoach Road near Hopkinton Village, a dirt road that rises from Briar Hill Road up to Gould Hill. Consisting of a 2-mile pathway marked by a roadside sign, the trail leads hikers and snowshoers deep into the forest, over brooks, up a slight hill, around a loop, and back to the start. Nature trail brochures are available at the trailhead, providing an overview of the property’s history and natural features.
This woodland trail is a great one for kids, with its two footbridges over a brook, hidden away in a hemlock grove at the bottom of a steep ravine. After the stream and a short climb, the trail loops back through thinly wooded former pasture land edged with stone walls. The property is owned and managed by Five Rivers Conservation Trust.
Directions:
From Hopkinton Village, follow Briar Hill Road 0.8 mile to Old Stagecoach Road. The trailhead is 0.2 mile up Old Stagecoach Road on the right. Park along the side of the road.
Walking times:
Full one-mile loop: 30 minutes
This 73-acre property is located on the right side of Old Stagecoach Road as you go up the hill, just 0.2 mile from its intersection with Briar Hill Road.
The nature trail begins off Old Stagecoach Road where a small sign and pull-out marks the trailhead. The trail enters a mixed forest before gradually descending to a tributary of Dolf Brook. The trail crosses a small drainage way and follows along the stream through a canopy of mature hemlocks.
Scattered throughout the preserve are massive boulders, several of which are visible from the trail. At approximately 0.4 miles, a small bridge crosses the stream and the trail climbs the slope, looping through an upland hardwood forest before descending back along the stream and returning to the point of beginning on Old Stagecoach Road.
The Sweatt Preserve was generously given to Five Rivers Conservation Trust in 2003 by Nancy N. Sweatt in loving memory of her husband, Robert A. Sweatt. Robert was a decorated veteran of World War II. During his many years in the service, he lived in various locations around the globe. His love for his boyhood town of Hopkinton and his land on Old Stagecoach Road never diminished. He and his wife were committed to preserving this land as a preserve for all to enjoy. The trail was built and maintained by volunteers from Five Rivers Conservation Trust.
The Sweatt Preserve Nature Trail map is shown below. Please click the text or image link to open/download/print the PDF map.
