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Access to the Trail:

This trail is on Silk Farm Road. From Concord travel west on Clinton Street (Rt. 13) and pass under I-89. Turn left at the blinking light onto Silk Farm Road for a very short distance. There is a wooden sign on your left of reading Upton-Morgan State Forest and a parking area that will accommodate several cars.

The Trails:

Hiking travel time: about 45 leisurely minutes

Distance: about 3/4 of a mile

This trail is a very nice, interpretive trail with clearly marked signs delineating various natural phenomena. There are three trails, the white blazed access trail which leads to two trails on the left, the red trail and the yellow trail to the right. On the red trail you will see American Chestnut, raptor’s nests, signs of a Pileated Woodpecker and old snags.  On the yellow trail you will find a pine forest, aspen forest, cavity trees, regeneration forest, oak forest, down and dead material, and deer barking. This forest offers a wonderful introduction to the woods for young children. Because of tight turns and a narrow bridge, the trail is recommended for walking only. 

History:

In 1835 entrepreneurs Isaac Hill, Able Cady, G. Parker Lyon, Stephen Brown, Moses G. Atwood, Samuel Evans, Charles Smart, and John Whipple wanted to develop unique industrial base for the City. They purchased the Ballard Haselton farm at the intersection of the road leading to Dunbarton (Clinton St.) and of the road from St. Paul’s School to Bow (now Silk Farm Rd). They paid $25,000 or $75,000 for the farm depending on the reference. The intended purpose was to cultivate silkworms to produce silk. Hundreds of Mulberry Trees were planted to feed the silk worms. Unfortunately, a few years after the start of the Silk Farm, the manufacturing of silk failed. The name of the road still survives.

David Morgan and Mark Upton purchased the land in 1901. They held it until 1917, when they conveyed the land to the New Hampshire Asylum for the use of its patients.  In 1972 the NH Health and Welfare Department no longer needed the property and transferred it to the State Department of Resources and Economic Development, Division of Forests and Lands who developed the trail. The interpretive signs were an Eagle Scout project of Addison Whitworth of Boy Scout Troop 81 in West Concord.