The Casalis Forest Trails at Casalis State Forest in Peterborough, New Hampshire make up an easy 2.5-mile loop hike and features views of Casalis Pond.
Trail name: Casalis State Forest Trails: 01, 02 and Town Line Brook Trail
Location: Route 123, Peterborough NH
Allowed activities: Hiking, birding, nature study, fishing, geocaching, ice skating
Forbidden activities: No motorized vehicles are allowed
Hours: There are no hours posted.
Fees and Parking: There is a parking area at the trailhead with parking for 5 or 6 cars. There is no fee to park or use the trails.
Pets: Dogs are allowed on the trail as long as they are on a leash. Please pack out dog waste.
Accessibility: This trail is not wheelchair accessible or stroller friendly.
Sanitation: There are no restrooms or trash receptacles. Please take out all trash with you.
Length and Trail information: There is no information kiosk at the trail head and no posted maps. Visitors may want to familiarize themselves on the layout of trails before venturing out, or perhaps download a map to take with them.
Peterborough Opens Space website has a trail map that can be downloaded at this address:
http://peterboroughopenspace.org/trails/casalis-state-forest-trail.html
A map is handy when encountering intersections, as the trail does not have any trail blaze markers posted. Occasionally a visitor might notice a conservation marker nailed to a tree, but the markers are too infrequent to sufficiently mark the trail. There are blue boundary markers painted on some trees and they do offer some help in keeping hikers oriented. This hike is an easy 2.5 mile long journey done as a loop/lollipop hike. The terrain is easy to navigate and the substrate has the usual trip hazards one would associate with walking in the woods: roots, rocks and occasionally a wet area.
From the parking area, the trail begins just past an Iron Gate and heads in an Easterly direction. The trail is very wide and flat here, about the size of a class VI road. The topography at the beginning of the trail is a curving gently downward sloping path. The trail leads hikers to and past the Casalis Pond/Marsh. This is a beautiful spot to take in the views. There are nesting boxes installed out in the shallow waters and lucky visitors may see a glimpse of some wildlife that calls this place home. Although there are no trail blaze markers, the width of the path makes the trail quiet evident. Hikers will arrive at a junction in the trail and if hikers choose to keep to the right, and travel in a Southeast direction as we did, they will soon encounter the Town Line Brook. If hikers cross over the brook at this point, the trail will continue until it reaches Condy Road. If, instead, hikers keep to the left, they will follow alongside the brook and will be traveling northeast. Here the trail becomes a narrow, single file path as it travels through a hemlock forest on the left and the brook on the right.
It was a surprise to see the volume of water flowing in the brook considering that this part of the Monadnock Region is currently under a severe drought. The trail along the Town Line Brook has a slow but steady incline that continues north; the large tumbles of rocks within the streambed have created numerous small pools and waterfalls which are delightful to see and hear. The footing can be a little tricky along the brook, as the trail comes quite close to the waters edge. It is easy to imagine that during springtime or heavy rains this section of the trail could be very wet, if not submerged. Moving further along the trail, hikers will find the stone remnants of what we guessed to be an old bridge. This is a good spot to stop for a rest or snap a photo or two of the brook below. The old bridge stones are not too far from where the trail makes its way up a small hill and away from the brook. The trail at this point becomes wider and easy to follow.
Having a map or knowing about the trail ahead of your visit will be useful when approaching the next intersection. If hikers keep to the right and head east, they will again end up on Condy Road and not back at the trailhead. We kept to the left and headed westward, aware that we were doing this hike as a loop. The trail continues to yet another intersection, and again, we kept to the left. The trail changes from wide to narrow and then wide again until it intersects one last time to the road leading back to the parking area. At this junction, hikers will want to go to the right and retrace their steps heading northwest, to catch a parting glimpse of Casalis pond. All in all, this is an easy hike along a beautiful woodland stream.
