A new primitive trail for hiking and snowshoeing, the Bob Marshall Trail, provides a link between Harvard Forest’s Prospect Hill Tract and Tom Swamp Tract. From north to south, it passes through properties owned by Harvard Forest (Gould Woodlot), the Church of St. Mary and St. Scholastica, Petersham State Forest, and Harvard Forest (Waldo Lot). The trail is named for Bob Marshall, a renowned hiker and founder of the Wilderness Society, who, while a student at Harvard Forest in 1924, is said to have regularly walked through the woods from Harvard Forest headquarters to his study plots in Tom Swamp.
The current trail was designed by Bob Clark, a longtime volunteer at Harvard Forest and former chair of the Petersham Open Space Committee and the Conservation Commission. Bob worked on marking and clearing the trail from 2010 to 2020. Committee members and other volunteers (including Anne Cavanaugh, Ari Pugliese, Ann Lewis, and Emery Boose) continued this work, starting in 2024, rerouting the trail away from wet areas, recent logging, and archaeological finds. In spring 2026, the trail was marked with blue blazes on trees.
More details and a trail map are available here.
Opening Event
The Petersham Open Space and Recreation Committee is hosting an opening event for the recently completed Bob Marshall Trail on Saturday, October 24. Please join us for a brief ceremony at 1:00 p.m. at the Gould Woodlot (Route 32). Experienced hikers are then welcome to join a guided walk down the trail 3.5 miles to Harvard Pond (Route 122).
The Gould Woodlot is located on the west side of Route 32, roughly ¼ mile north of Harvard Forest headquarters. Additional parking is available at Harvard Forest. Please send an email to the Open Space Committee if you are interested in hiking the trail so we can make sure there are enough vehicles parked at Harvard Pond to return hikers to the start of the trail. The hike is expected to take 2-3 hours.
The rain date for the event is October 25 at 1:00 p.m.
Photo by Emery Boose
