Hike of the Month: Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm

From idyllic farm fields lined with stone walls to the burbling Cutthroat Brook – and a seemingly endless army of gnomes peeking out from every tree nook and cranny – Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm offers something for everyone.

The property is a 350-acre Forest Stewardship Council certified tree farm that abuts Harvard Forest near the Petersham/Athol town line. The land provides a critical wooded buffer to Harvard Forest’s long-term ecological studies that monitor the health of eastern forests, as well as extends a significant corridor of conservation land that allows unimpeded wildlife passage from the Quabbin Reservoir north to New Hampshire.

Owners Ben and Susie Feldman thoughtfully conserved their property with Mount Grace in 2016 and have been creatively designing well-marked trails that allow you to roam at your leisure. Almost 15 miles of trails are available for exploration, with marked routes that vary from the short-and-easy Flatlanders’ route to the hillier 5-mile Curley-Q Trail. If you’re interested in seeing the Triple Oak Tree featured in the NBC docuseries The Americas, you can do that too! The tree is a one-minute walk from the parking area, and it is a joy to revisit season after season.

Today, we’ll explore one of the most popular hikes on the property – the 1.6-mile Learning Loop Trail.

About the Learning Loop Trail

Mount Grace worked with Susie and Ben to create the 1.6-mile Forest Learning Loop, where you can learn about the trees and natural features around you. The trail is relatively flat and can be easily shortened by following signs that read “shorter way back” that return you to the parking lot.

Gnomes of all sizes peek out from their hiding places along the trail, and informational signs are posted throughout giving you tidbits of information on tree species and landscape features.

The Learning Loop will also cross over Cutthroat Brook – a perfect place to stop and listen as the brook flows across the forest floor. At one point on this trail, you’ll also encounter the Tri-Town Marker where you could physically be in Athol, Phillipston, and Petersham all at the same time!

Distance: 1.6-miles | Elevation Gain: 147 feet | Type: Loop