A new accessible trail circling the meadow on top of Beech Hill in Dublin is now open to the public.
The trail, which is about a mile from end to end, circles the meadow and includes an expansive overlook of the Contoocook Valley, Crotched Mountain and the Wapack range.
The Meadow Trail, which was completed in July, was constructed by the Beech Hill-Dublin Lake Watershed Association. The Harrisville Trails Association, the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock and the Monadnock Conservancy partnered with the Beech Hill-Dublin Lake Watershed Association on the project.
“This project has been a long time in the works, and we are just so happy this beautiful trail is finally completed and can be enjoyed by all, ” said Beech Hill-Dublin Lake Watershed Association board member Nina McIntyre.
The Beech Hill Watershed Association was formed in 2005 by a group of Dublin neighbors seeking to conserve the land at the site of the former Beech Hill Hospital. According to the association’s website, the Beech Hill ridgeline forms the watershed between the Connecticut River to the west and the Merrimack River to the east.
The Dublin Lake Watershed Association was formed in 2006, and the two groups have since merged. The association is a registered 501(c) 3 organization.
According to McIntyre, the Beech Hill-Dublin Lake Watershed Association started to discuss ways to conserve the meadow on top of Beech Hill, which is located above the Dublin School campus and overlooks Dublin Lake, about six years ago. The property originally included a summer home, and was later one of the first drug and alcohol rehabilitation hospitals in the United States.
After the hospital closed in 2001, the abandoned building began to attract vandals. The hospital was not torn down until 2021.
“Unfortunately the site was tagged on social media, and it was becoming more popular. It was especially popular on Halloween,” McIntyre said.
The 10-acre parcel which includes the hospital site is privately owned.
The land surrounding the hospital needed environmental mediation after the building was torn down, including removal of asphalt driveways, parking lots, outbuildings and a sewage lagoon.
“We are hoping that the 10-acre parcel where the main hospital building was will be part of this conserved land at some point,” McIntyre said. “The goal is to fully restore the meadow to its natural state.”
According to McIntyre, the association board began to think about building an accessible trail at the site in 2023.
“We wondered, could we build an access to this hilltop that would enable people with mobility issues to get out and experience it and take in these views? It is very rare to have a mountain meadow in New England, and it is even more rare for people with mobility issues to be able to access a mountain view,” McIntrye said.
McIntyre, Weber, Kenyon and other members of the association board visited other accessible trails to develop the design, including the Crotched Mountain Foundation trails in Greenfield and the NH Audubon headquarters “all persons” trail in Auburn.
The Meadow Trail connects with trail systems in both Dublin and Harrisville, including the Dublin School Nordic Center trails.
McIntyre credits association volunteers Peter Kenyon and Alison Weber for creating the trail map.
“We used to include their trails on our map of Beech Hill trails, but the Nordic Center changes their trails every year, so now we just refer people to the Dublin School website,” McIntyre said.
A trail map of the Beech Hill trails is available on the Monadnock Conservancy website at https://www.monadnockconservancy.org/fileadmin/files/Trail_Maps/Beech_Hill_Trails_finalOct2020.pdf.
The meadow restoration project includes plans for the installation of a pollinator garden with native plants as well as an outdoor classroom area that will be used by the Harris Center or other groups.
The association is working with Jeff Littleton of Moose Hill Ecological to create the pollinator garden.
“It is a little bit of a challenge in a sandy site, and we will see what works up here,” McIntyre said. “It will be native plants, and once they are established, they won’t need much maintenance.”
The pollinator garden will include native plants such as bee balm, New England aster, echinacea, tall coreopsis, black-eyed susan and many others.
Members of the Garden Club of Dublin toured the property on Sept. 4. McIntyre, who is also a member of the garden club, said the club has expressed interest in helping with the property as part of their conservation and civic mission.
The Meadow Trail can be reached from the Beech Hill parking lot off of Harrisville Road in Dublin, just after the Dublin School Nordic Center on the west side of the road.
Walkers and hikers can park at the parking lot about halfway the road.
Individuals or groups of people with limited mobility who wish to access the road to the top of the hill where the accessible trail starts can schedule a visit with the Beech Hill-Dublin Lake Watershed association.
“Unfortunately, the site is still a destination for some tagging and vandalism, so we don’t have the gate open all the time yet, but we are getting there,” McIntyre said. “Right now, we are inviting places like our local assisted living facilities, schools with children with mobility issues, groups of moms with strollers or any other groups who like to access the trail to bring buses up here and enjoy the property.”
For information, go to https://www.monadnockconservancy.org/explore/hiking.