About the Property
More than 2 miles of trail wind through pine-oak forest at the Bockes Memorial Forest, offering peaceful solitude in the heart of suburban Londonderry and Hudson. Located within walking distance of a dense residential area, this forest provides important habitat for wildlife. Portions of the forest were carefully thinned in 2014, providing opportunities for fox, fisher, coyote, raccoon, and weasel to hunt smaller animals in bigger openings. With long views down its woods roads, the Bockes Memorial Forest is an excellent choice for close-to-home leaf peeping and dog walking.
Please see our Visitor Use Guidelines page for a complete list of rules and regulations for Forest Society reservations
Property Details
The original owner of the property, Reverend Leslie C. Bockes, opened a children’s summer camp on the property for inner city youth from Lowell, Massachusetts. The land has been a certified Tree Farm, and the previous owners won the NH Timberland Owners Association John Hoar Award in 1978 for exemplary forestry and conservation practices. The Ingersoll siblings spent their summers in a cottage on this land overlooking Beaver Brook—when not working on the tree farm.
The Bockes Memorial Forest began with a donation of 71 acres to the Forest Society in 1975 by Patricia Bockes Ingersoll in memory of her father, the reverend Leslie C. Bockes. In 2003 Patricia’s children transferred nearly all the remaining family land in Londonderry and Hudson to the Forest Society plus a conservation easement on an adjoining 32 acres in Windham to the town. The total contiguous acreage owned by the Forest Society is now 226 acres and Bockes Memorial Forest is part of the 300-acre “Tri-Town Forest” that includes abutting town-owned land in Windham.
Through a remarkable team effort, three towns, two state agencies combined their resources, along with a generous bargain sale from the Ingersoll family all worked together to reach the important goal of permanently protecting this property. This was comprised of $300,000 from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP); $245,382 from the Department of Environmental Services Water Supply Land Grant Program; a $351,425 bargain sale by the owners; and $1,566,193 from the towns.
Trail Information
Leslie C. Bockes Memorial Forest Trail Network
None
Look for the Forest Society sign along the wide part of Mill Road to access the Leslie C. Bockes Memorial Forest trail network. This well-established network of logging roads provides excellent hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing with numerous access points. The trails are on well-maintained woods roads that enable easy walking and generally good footing (there may be a few wet spots after heavy rain).
Recommended Properties Nearby
Monson Village was one of New Hampshire’s first inland towns settled by Europeans.
These lands had been in the Heald family for more than a century and are collectively known as the Heald Tract. They had historically been well managed by the Healds for multiple uses, including apple orchards, wildlife habitat, forest products, passive recreation, education, and flood control.
