The Forest Society offers education programs at the 712-acre "Hay Forest Reservation" in Newbury, NH.  The literary legacy of award-winning Cape Cod naturalist, John Hay, son of Clarence and Alice Hay, lives on in Forest Society outreach programs and recreational trail improvements designed to connect the public to natural and cultural history of woodlots and former pastures of the Hay family's cherished summer home. Many programs are co-sponsored with The Fells historic estate and gardens. Visit The Fells website at www.thefells.org for a full calendar listing of upcoming Fells events.

The unique cultural resources of the Hay Reservation include cellar holes of former farms, stonewalls and pastures that have reverted to forestland along more than 4 miles of excellent recreational hiking trails including the "Sunset Hill Trail" and "Old County Road." The trails provide excellent access to a rich outdoor classroom for natural history workshops connecting forest history to land use history. The Hay Reservation provides exceptional wildlife habitats, diverse forests on Sunset Hill and along Beech Brook with associated wetlands. Areas of active forest management – including timber harvesting and pre-commercial timber improvements provide an ideal setting for putreach education related to both forestry and wildlife ecology.

The original 675 acre tract of the Hay Reservation was donated to the Forest Society in 1960 by Clarence L. Hay and his wife, Alice Appleton Hay. The Hay Forest Reservation was expanded in 1998 with the purchase of the 37-acre Kidder Tract on Chalk Pond Road. Parking and access to the recreational trails is located at either end of the Old County Road (gated), at the Kidder Tract on Chalk Pond Road and at The Fells main Gate House office parking area opposite the trailhead for the Sunset Hill Trail.

The Hay Forest Reservation is the largest tract of a nearly 900-acre complex of protected land overlooking Lake Sunapee. The adjacent 81-acre US Fish and Wildlife Service John Hay National Wildlife Refuge and the 83-acre "The Fells" Hay family home with its landscaped grounds provide horticultural and cultural history education programs including house and garden tours.

Directions: From Concord and points south and east: Take I-89 north to Exit 9 (Route 103) and go west to Newbury. Then take Route 103A north 2.2 miles. From Lebanon, Hanover and points north: Follow I-89 south to Exit 12 (Route 11), turn right at end of ramp and immediately left onto Route 103A south. Follow 103A for 5.6 miles.

Spring-Summer 2019 Programs at The Fells & Hay Forest Reservation, Newbury

Co-sponsored by The Fells and Society for the Protection of NH Forests.

Famous Trees of the Fells
Thursday, June 6, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

While at The Fells, Secretary of State John Milton Hay wrote in his diary on October 1, 1904, “I have never seen such splendor in the woods as today. Around the house the maples are blazing in every shade of color from scarlet and orange to pale yellow and delicate pink, while the beeches, birches, ashes, and poplars add their vigorous shades to the chorus and the evergreens form the grave background of the marvelous picture.”

Join Dave Anderson of the Forest Society for a hike and trail-side discussion of “Famous Trees of The Fells.” We will employ historic maps, and writings by the naturalist John Hay as we visit these great witnesses of the history of The Fells.

Co-sponsored by Society for the Protection of NH Forests and The Fells. Members $10, nonmembers $15 per program. Advance registration requested, please register early. To register, respond as "Going" to our Facebook event or call the Fells at 603-763-4789 x3. Cost: $10 for Members and $15 for non-members; per program.

A Hay Family Picnic on Sunset Hill
Friday, June 21, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

One of the beloved events of the Hay family was to enjoy a picnic on the top of Sunset Hill. This summer, on the summer solstice, join Dave Anderson of the Forest Society and members of The Fells staff for a traditional Hay Family picnic at the top of Sunset Hill.

Co-sponsored by Society for the Protection of NH Forests and The Fells. Lunch catered by Blue Loon Bakery of New London, NH. Members $20, nonmembers $25 per program, picnic lunch included. Meet at the Gatehouse Kiosk. Advance registration required, please register early. To register, or for more information call 603-763-4789 x3.

Veranda Readings: John Hay's Memories of the Fells

Thursday, July 11, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

John Hay had written in several of his books about childhood summers spent at The Fells, his parents Clarence and Alice Hay and the special places he fondly remembers exploring. This late afternoon program on the Veranda of the Main House will share readings from John Hay’s works—The Immortal Wilderness, A Beginner’s Faith in Things Unseen and In The Company of Light. Join Dave Anderson as he reads several passages from John Hay’s writings—each inspired by John Hay’s boyhood rambles at The Fells, Lake Sunapee and his own summertime explorations of the former farms which now comprise The Fells and the Forest Society’s Hay Forest Reservation. No hiking, this program takes place on the Veranda of The Main House.

 Co-sponsored by Society for the Protection of NH Forests and The Fells. Members $10, nonmembers $15 per program. Meet at The Fells Gatehouse Kiosk. Advance registration requested, please register early. To register, or for more information call 603-763-4789 x3.