With the week off from work my son and I explored the Mast Road Natural Area in Epping, NH yesterday. SELT recently posted a new Mast Road Natural area trail map on their website. It makes navigating the trail system easy. I had previously visited the trails and wasn’t too impressed. This is because I didn’t know how many trails were actually out there.
Mast Road Natural Area Epping, NH Trail Map
http://seltnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Mast-Road-MAP-ONLY_UPDATED.pdf
The new bridges that SELT put in are really impressive and make getting over the wetlands near the beginning of the trail very easy. My previous visit had been prior to these bridges being built and it required some very shore-footedness and balance.
New Bridges!
While we didn’t see much for wildlife on our hike yesterday we did see a lot of evidence of animals. Between scat and tracks there seems to be an abundance of animals in this area.
Deer Tracks
It seems that SELT is still working on the trails as well. The kiosk and trail signs are still unfinished. It will be nice when these are completed.
Unfinished Kiosk at the Gate 3 Trail Head
The trail abuts the Lamprey River and that was the final destination for us. It’s great that this parcel was able to protect so much of the river’s shoreline.
Lamprey River
While there is a fair amount of trail out here, the trail lacks real diversity in terrain and ecology. Similar to the Piscassic River Wildlife Management Area in Exeter, the trails are mostly old logging roads, that are flat, and boring.
Flat Straight old Logging Rd Trails
Have you hiked these trails? Let us know below in the comments!
Map and Stats
I think the ecology is actually quite diverse, as evidenced by the various natural communities shown on the map. These communities are probably much more apparent during the growing season. Also, as SELT continues to manage and restore the habitat on this once severely mistreated property the diversity will continue to increase. The trails are indeed flat…. An expansive and impressive example of floodplain and old floodplain forests disappearing from our landscape and also a typical topography of the seacoast region in general. The flat trails can be a plus for many people and uses including the trail that is still under construction, which is intended to be wheelchair accessible when complete.
Thank you for the comment! The reviews that I write are my opinion and I don’t want to discourage anybody from visiting any trail systems. I hadn’t considered the value of accessibility that these flat trails (and these trails in particular) provide. These trails, along with the trails at Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, are probably some of the most accessible in the seacoast.