Working with dedicated volunteers and the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development Division of Parks and Lands, the Forest Society relocated the trailhead of the popular Dublin Trail leading from Old Troy Road to the peak of Mount Monadnock, including constructing a new parking area and installing a new kiosk and trail map.
The new trailhead parking area can accommodate twenty cars. Buses will have access to the Mountain via the State Park headquarters.
On Saturday July 14 the Forest Society, NH Parks and Recreation, and the Monadnock Advisory Committee hosted a public opening of the new trailhead. Following a presentation on the background of the project by Geoff Jones and Dave Anderson, directors of land management and education respectively, the two Forest Society staffers led a group on a hike of the new lower portion of Dublin Trail.
In addition to inspecting the trail work completed to Forest Society staff will discuss the forestry prescriptions, and the trail relocation project on the Dublin Trail. Located on the north side of Mount Monadnock, the Dublin Trail is the first section of the Monadnock to Sunapee Greenway and an important remote trailhead outside of the State Park Headquarters in Jaffrey. A timber harvest removing old field white pine is taking place along sections of the former Dublin trail. The low quality pine on this site originated from old pastureland in the early 1900s. The overstory removal will release advanced regeneration of higher quality hardwoods that are better adapted to the site.
Additional work will be completed on the Dublin Trail during a Monadnock Trails Week (MTW), to be held on the mountain from July 21st through the 25th. More than 50 volunteers from several organizations will offer something back to the iconic peak by dedicating their time and energy to trail improvement projects
“We anticipate that volunteer turnout for this year’s Monadnock Trails Week to exceed last years,” said Forest Society Reservation Stewardship Specialist, Andy Fast. “The positive feedback received from MTW volunteers last year suggested that they would be back for round two, and bring friends with them this year.”
During Monadnock Trails Week, staff and volunteers associated with the Forest Society, the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, (DRED), the Student Conservation Association (SCA), Trailwrights, the Cardigan Highlanders Trail Club, Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), Monadnock Mountain Club (MMC), and the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club (MSGTC) will work on trail construction and maintenance projects along the Dublin, Marlborough, White Arrow, and Old Halfway House trails.