Distance: 4 Miles with other options
Difficulty: Easy
Located at 184 Amherst Road in Merrimack is a wonderful little Nature Preserve, well I saw little, but it's not that little as I feel you could spend a half a day exploring all the trails in this preserve. I am alway looking for new hiking spots and came across this great area. It is also nice to see towns have great hiking spots for residents who do not want to drive very far.
My first impression was amazement in the parking area. Every time I go hiking I feel parking is always a difficulty as a lot of trailheads do not have great parking. This large parking area is wonderful for all types of vehicles.
This nature preserve is open to various recreation activities hiking, biking, cross country skiing, horseback riding, hunting and snowmobiles. During hunting season make sure you are wear hunter safety orange and in the winter be cautious of snowmobiles. Dogs are allowed, you are asked to clean up after them.
There are trail maps at the beginning and I recommended grabbing one on your first visit as there are a lot of different trails to explore. The highest elevation is a little over 400 ft so not a lot of gain, but some very pretty scenery. I also saw a lot of blueberries and blackberries.
We did an almost four mile hike around the preserve and I was amazed of how beautiful it was and how well maintained the trails were. We went over Blodgett Hill and Horse Hill Summit and around Long Pond and back to the parking lot.
We saw others riding bikes and out for an evening hike, but the trails were not too crowded. If you live in or near Merrimack I hope you are taking advantage of these trails or if you are in the area, I highly recommended checking them out.
