The Rice property, with 200 acres and 1475 feet of frontage on the Contoocook River, was purchased by the town with money from the Open Space Bond.

This large parcel, with its extensive river frontage, provides good habitat for a variety of wildlife. A local farmer maintains the large field near the river. The town has conveyed a conservation easement on the property to Five Rivers Conservation Trust.

Parking and trails have not been developed on this parcel.

The Trails

The Mast Yard trail is a loop starting at the northwest corner of the parking lot off Broad Cove Road in Concord, just over the Hopkinton line. Taking the left fork after crossing Dolf Brook, turn right onto the old railroad bed, right again at the power lines and return over Dolf Brook. This loop, a total of about five miles, is relatively flat and excellent for hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing with children. The trail along the railroad bed is linked via a pedestrian/snowmobile bridge over the Contoocook River to the Lehtinen Park Trails and Jim Hill River Walk in Concord.

History

According to Bouton’s History of Concord, in the early 1800’s this area was famous for supplying trees, two to three feet in diameter, that were used as masts for “His Majesty’s Royal Ships” and later as masts for various other vessels built on the seacoast. The best masts were from the northwesterly side of Horse Hill. The trees were “drawn” to the Contoocook River to an area now called the “Mast Yard,” then floated down to the Merrimack River. Larger logs were drawn by 52 teams of oxen (104 animals) along Borough Road to the sandbanks below Sewalls Falls and there “thrown” into the Merrimack River and floated to the coast.

The Mast Yard Forest trail map is shown below. Please click the text or image link to open/download/print the PDF map located on the City of Concord website.

Mast Yard Forest Trails – Click here to open/download/print PDF map (City of Concord website).

From the parking area at the cabin, follow the gravel road to a footpath along the lake. The original trail, marked with yellow blazes, follows along the lakeshore to the height of land and then loops back through the woods to the shore.

The main trail, part of the Hopkinton Village Greenway, continues west to New Road, a Class 6 road that connects to South Road. This section of the trail was built by the Hopkinton Conservation Commission after additional land was deeded to the town by the developers of the adjacent Fieldstone Road neighborhood.

There is a short loop off the main trail, marked with red blazes, that leads to some large boulders.

History

The Kimball Lake property was given to the town in 1982 by the Swiftwater Girl Scout Council who received the property through a bequest from the Kimball Estate. The lake and cabins were developed by two public-spirited natives, John C. Kimball of Manchester and Harold C. Kimball of New York City.

In 1931, the Kimballs hired unemployed workers in Hopkinton to rebuild the former mill dam on Mill Creek, dredge the swamp and create a lake. They constructed log cabins and operated the property as a lakeside resort, Horseshoe Trail Camp, for many years. The Kimball’s purchased the old blacksmith shop on the corner of Main Street and turned it into a restaurant called Horseshoe Tavern.

Residents are encouraged to use this area for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, mountain biking, fishing and canoeing and kayaking.

TThe Kimball Lake trail map is shown below. Please click the text or image link to open/download/print the PDF map.

Kimball Lake Trails – Click here to open/download/print PDF map.