Forest Reservation Challenge

Patching up: meeting the Forest Society Reservation Challenge

/ Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

Four years, folks. That’s how long it’s been since I plunged into the Forest Society’s Forest Reservation Challenge. Visit 33 of the Society’s New Hampshire properties & get a patch, they said. Piece of cake, I said.

It took me four years to consume that particular piece of cake, I just got my patch.

Forest Society patch held by Ellen Kolb of New Hampshire
The Granite State Walker meets a challenge.

A few favorites

The project sent me to easy hikes and challenging ones, wetlands and high granite ledges, near home and darn near Canada. A few of the properties made deeper impressions than others.

Christine Lake, Stark, New Hampshire
Christine Lake, Kauffmann Forest, Stark NH
  • Kauffmann Forest, Stark. Christine Lake with its view of Victor Head and the Percy Peaks is a worthy destination in itself.
  • Dame Forest, Durham. When my daughter was a UNH student, I didn’t know this beautiful wetlands jewel was only a few miles away from campus. A long easy trail leads to Great Bay, and shorter trails are available. I had the place to myself for an unhurried visit when I was there a couple of years ago. I’m told that since COVID, it has become much more popular. I recommend a midweek visit.
  • Morse Preserve, Alton, with the summit of Pine Mountain. After seeing the wonderful view of Lake Winnipesaukee from there, and sharing the trail with only three other people, I may never visit Mount Major again.
  • Moose Mountains Reservation, Middleton/Brookfield. The view from Phoebe’s Nable turned my brown-bag lunch into a special event.

That’s not to mention the lime kilns, and the roads with whimsical names like Faraway and Local Ox Team, and autumn on Silver Mountain. Then there are a few spots suffering these days from too-much-love syndrome, and I’ll let you figure those out for yourself.

berries on hilltop, autumn in New Hampshire
Autumn on Silver Mountain, Lempster NH

How I did it

Pre-Covid, I had a job that sent me all over the state for various projects. I fit in Forest Society reservations where I could: a stop in Bethlehem on the way home from business in Littleton, a trail in Sandwich on my way to a presentation in Ossipee. A couple of times, I took one-day road trips with two or three reservations on the itinerary.

Bretzfelder Park, Bethlehem New Hampshire
Bretzfelder Park, a Forest Society property in Bethlehem NH

The Kingsbury-Chippewa property in Haverhill was particularly elusive. I finally got there as my husband and I returned from a weekend upstate, determined to avoid I-93. I said, “There’s this Forest Society reservation over in Haverhill…” and I may have mentioned something about the patch. Actually I’m sure I did. “Let’s go,” said my traveling companion. And so we did.

As is often the case, the journey – in this case journeys – mattered more than the arrival. The arrival took the form of a little embroidered patch. Every time I look at it, I’ll recall one of those journeys, and I’ll be smiling.

Exploring Forest Society properties

The Forest Society has some excellent resources. Check out the Outdoor Spatial app for a mobile-friendly guide to select reservations. Enjoy the annual 5 Hikes Challenge. Follow the Forest Society’s Facebook page for videos including virtual field trips to various properties.

Edited 2026 to update web links.

Midweek on Old Toll Road, Mount Monadnock

/ Ellen Kolb

When the Forest Society announced its challenge last year, offering a patch for anyone visiting 33 specified Forest Society properties, I jumped on board immediately. Since then, I’ve had fun discovering some new trails. Others, like those on Mount Monadnock, are already familiar. The Forest Society has a reservation on the mountain that blends seamlessly with Monadnock State Park.

On my most recent visit to Monadnock, my indifferent level of fitness ruled out a summit hike. I settled for an easy walk to the Halfway House clearing via the Old Toll Road, featuring a wonderful view to the south with Gap Mountain foremost.

Gap from Halfway House_Monadnock
The view south from Mt. Monadnock’s Halfway House clearing. Photos by Ellen Kolb.

The Old Toll Road begins at the well-marked state park parking lot on NH Route 124 on the south side of the mountain. (Post-Covid update: the state park now charges a $15 parking fee, which covers a driver and up to five passengers. Reservations can be made online. See the Monadnock State Park web page for current information.)

The Old Toll Road has a packed crushed-gravel surface, well-drained, and wide as a boulevard. It’s an uphill path for sure, but easy going until it ends at the White Arrow Trail. I walked up the Road, picked up White Arrow for a short distance, and soon I reached my destination: the Halfway House clearing, named for an inn that once stood there.

Old Toll Road, Spring
Old Toll Road on Mount Monadnock, mid-spring

I looked up to the summit and saw no hikers. That’s unusual. Normally, the summit seen from that distance looks like an anthill.

DSCF1650 - Copy
A peek at Monadnock’s summit from the Halfway House clearing

A cool breeze kept the bugs away on the overcast day. I knew I was likely to be rained on any minute. I didn’t care. A midday midweek visit to New Hampshire’s most-climbed mountain rewarded me with solitude, and solitude on Monadnock is meant to be savored.

Forest Society invites you to discover New Hampshire

/ Ellen Kolb / 3 Comments

Call it the Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the SPNHF, or the simpler Forest Society: however you say it, here’s an organization that wants to show off its holdings. The Forest Society has issued us a challenge. The payoff for you and me: a patch.

The Forest Reservation Challenge involves visiting 33 of the Forest Society’s New Hampshire holdings. At this time no deadline has been set, which is a good thing, since the 33 holdings are scattered all over the Granite State. These things take time. For all of us with either limited time or a limited budget for gas, there’s a “Tier 2” challenge: visit several properties in one region of the state, plus answer questions about each property. Alas, selfies are involved, which is a mild annoyance for those of us who are not photogenic. That’s how the good folks at the Forest Society know that we’re not just using old photos from our friends’ collections.

The Forest Society’s web site explains the challenge in full. I’m going to give it a try. You may find, as I’m discovering, that some Forest Society lands are actually fairly close to home. Some may be close to routes you already travel regularly. I’m looking forward to re-visiting some favorite spots and discovering new ones.

Bretzfelder Park, Bethlehem New Hampshire
Bretzfelder Park, a Forest Society property in Bethlehem NH

Whether I earn the patch or not, I’m going to have fun on the trails. I’ll post about my progress.

Update: how long did it take me to finish the Challenge? Read all about it!