Pine Hill Community Forest

Preserve

Public Access
Trails
Trailhead

January 31, 2022

The 594-acre Pine Hill Community Forest is located in the heart of Conway, adjacent to Kennett High School. USVLT purchased the original 460 acres of the Pine Hill Community Forest in 2018 and then added 134 acres with the Pine Hill expansion project in 2022. The beloved Community Forest property is home to the Conway Rec Path as well as the Ravine Trail, and is popular with hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and snowshoers. It provides outdoor learning space for Kennett High School students and Tin Mountain Conservation Center, trails for KHS athletes, protects the water quality of the Saco River, and provides forested habitat for wildlife.

The property is managed to balance ecological and social values for the long-term benefit of the natural and human communities in the Mount Washington Valley. Management decisions are made by the Pine Hill Management Committee, a multi-stakeholder group. Members of the management committee include Tin Mountain Conservation Center, Kennett High School & the Conway School District, The Mount Washington Valley Trails Association & Rec Path Committee, the Mountain Meadow Riders Snowmobile Club, and the Town of Conway.

Conservation and Public Recreation Values

1.7 miles of the Conway Recreation Path, a multi-use trail for hikers, bikers, skiers, and snowshoers
1.2 miles of the Ravine Trail and Ravine Trail Connector
0.7 miles of the Commuter Trail, which provides an alternative route for pedestrians along busy Route 16
Over 3,000 feet of the Mountain Meadow Rider’s snowmobile trail
125 acres of wetland, including a section of Cold Brook
Over 4,100 feet of frontage on the Saco River
Over 6,600 feet of scenic, undeveloped frontage on NH Route 16 creating a “green corridor” that divides Conway village from North Conway village
Over 3,400 feet of scenic, undeveloped road frontage on NH Route 302
412 acres of undeveloped hemlock-hardwood-pine forest
20 acres of Appalachian oak-pine forest at the summits of Pine Hill & Knob Hill
A section of the Saco River Valley Glacial Aquifer that serves as the groundwater supply for the Town of Conway

History

Located on the traditional ancestral lands of the Abenaki people, the Pine Hill Community Forest likely reached its height of fame after European colonization in the late 1800s, when it was the site of the White Mountain Mineral Spring Company and the associated Victorian-style Nash House, which served as both a bottling plant and country inn for “rusticators” and travelers. The long-abandoned Nash House was burned around 1970 as part of a fire department training exercise. The nearby (and now restored) Mineral Spring House – just upslope from the western entrance of Kennett High School - still covers the spring’s source. More recently, the land was owned by the Kennett Company for many decades, and has been professionally managed over the years by Forest Land Improvement for commercial forest products. USVLT intends to continue sustainably managing the Pine Hill parcel for long-term timber production.

Video Exploration

The Pine Hill Community Forest was one of the featured conservation lands of USVLT's 2019 Art Celebrates Place. Scott Barber, a talented, local director, created a video exploration of this beloved community forest. Check it out below.

Trails & Directions

A downloadable trail map is available HERE.
Check out this review on AllTrails of the new Summit Trail and the Eagle Way Connector Trail.
Directions, trail maps and details for the Conway Recreation Path and the Commuter Trail are available on Trail Finder.
From downtown North Conway, head southeast on US-302 E. After 2.6 miles, turn left onto US-302 E/Eastman Road. Continue for 1.6 miles. Take a left onto E Conway Road, then turn right onto Meeting House Hill Road. Park at the Smith-Eastman Landing at the end of Meeting House Hill Road. From the kiosk, the Conway Rec Path heads west along the Saco River. In a half mile, after passing under the US-302 overpass, the Conway Rec Path enters the Pine Hill Community Forest, continuing along the river.

Funding

Funding for the original 2018 project was provided by:

This resource has been protected with assistance from the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP)
Fields Pond Foundation
Open Space Institute Community Forest Fund
Town of Conway
Davis Conservation Foundation
This project was supported by the NH State Conservation Committee Conservation Moose Plate Grant
William P. Wharton Trust
The Marshall Family Fund and other donor advised funds of the NH Charitable Foundation
And many generous community members

Funding for the 2022 expansion project was provided by:

This resource has been protected with assistance from the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP)
United States Forest Service “Community Forest Program”
Town of Conway
Gibson/Woodbury Charitable Foundation
Kendal C. and Anna Ham Foundation
Robert & Dorothy Goldberg Charitable Foundation
Fields Pond Foundation
This project was supported by the NH State Conservation Committee Conservation Moose Plate Grant
Donor-advised funds from the NH Charitable Foundation
And many generous community members

State(s): NH
Town(s): conway
Acres: 593
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