2020 Discovery Hikes

Hazen Trail: Visit Pluto!

• Meeting location: Marion Cross School parking lot near school-bus assembly point, where everyone will receive a briefing on social distancing and carpooling. Maximum participants: 10, plus two leaders. 
• Meeting date and time: Saturday at 9 am, May 30, 2020.
• Trailhead location: Hazen Trailhead Kiosk parking area on drive to Norwich Daycare 
• Reward: Walking through mixed woods and fields, the Montshire Museum has placed information markers about the planets in the solar system at distances proportional from the museum to their orbit around the sun. Towards the end of the hike, there is a view of the Connecticut River.
• Length: 3.2 miles round trip with 260 feet of uphill. Those wishing to walk one way, may pre-arrange to drop their car off at the southern end.
• Difficulty: Easy grades, suitable for all ages.
• Web links: https://www.trailfinder.info/trails/trail/hazen-trail
• Directions to trailhead from Dan & Whit’s: Take road to Hanover (VT 10A) to second set of lights. Turn right on Montshire Road, stay right towards Norwich Daycare. Parking along road and turnout. (0.9 miles)
• Prizes: A small prize be either a Norwich Trails Committee logo window to go to the youngest attendee of the Marion Cross School and to the oldest Social Security recipient.
• Sign up: To register, email norwichtrailsignup@gmail.com. Put “Hazen hike” in header of your email and state the number of participants in your party. Hikes are limited to a maximum of ten participants in total, plus leaders.

Parcel 5: Five kilometers in two loops

• Meeting date and time: Saturday at 9 am, June 27, 2020.
• Meeting location: Marion Cross School parking lot near school-bus assembly point, where everyone will receive a briefing on social distancing and carpooling. Maximum participants: 10, plus two leaders.
• Trailhead location: Parcel 5 parking lot
• Reward: Explore a popular running, biking and ski trail with many twists and turns through mixed forest. Find the shortcuts and exits to other trails. Visit the site of Norwich’s missing bridge and its makeshift temporary replacement, just across Beaver Meadow Road, and see how to get to the Bill Ballard Trail.
• Length: Full loop 5 km (3.1 miles) and 380 feet of uphill in two sub-loops at the discretion of participants.
• Difficulty: Moderate with some ups and downs. Suitable for healthy adults and children.
• Web links: https://norwichtrails.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/parcel5-map.png
• Directions to trailhead from Dan & Whit’s: Follow Beaver Meadow Road (left past the Norwich Inn) 2.5 miles and look for a small sign on the right, marked “Parcel 5”.
• Prizes: A small prize will go to the youngest attendee of the Marion Cross School and to the oldest Social Security recipient.
• Sign up: To register, email norwichtrailsignup@gmail.com. Put “Parcel 5 hike” in header of your email and state the number of participants in your party. Hikes are limited to a maximum of ten participants in total, plus leaders.

Lower Ballard Trail: Find Norwich’s missing bridge

• Meeting date and time: Saturday at 9 am, July 25, 2020.
• Meeting location: Marion Cross School parking lot near school-bus assembly point, where everyone will receive a briefing on social distancing and carpooling. Maximum participants: 10, plus two leaders. 
• Trailhead location: Ballard Park at the former Norwich Pool site parking lot
• Reward: Many views of the Charles Brown Brook, which was badly flooded by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Enjoy the “Stairway to Heaven”, installed by the Norwich Trails Committee and Upper Valley Trails Alliance. Pass the site of the former town reservoir. Hike to the Schoolhouse Road and see the temporary bridge that replaced the one that collapsed.
• Length: 3.1 miles round trip with 200 feet of uphill. Those wishing to walk one way, may pre-arrange to drop their car off at Parcel 5.
• Difficulty: Mostly easy with a few steep pitches. Suitable for healthy adults and children.
• Web links: https://norwichtrails.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/ballardtrail-map.png
• Directions to trailhead from Dan & Whit’s: Follow Beaver Meadow Road (left past the Norwich Inn) 1.1 miles, just past 319 Beaver Meadow Road on the left, and look for the driveway on the left into the former site of the Norwich Pool, just before the bridge crossing the brook.
• Prizes: A small prize will go to the youngest attendee of the Marion Cross School and to the oldest Social Security recipient.
• Sign up: To register, email norwichtrailsignup@gmail.com. Put “Lower Ballard hike” in header of your email and state the number of participants in your party. Hikes are limited to a maximum of ten participants in total, plus leaders.

Upper Ballard Trail: See Norwich’s “Grand Canyon”

• Meeting date and time: Saturday at 9 am, August 29, 2020.
• Meeting location: Marion Cross School parking lot near school-bus assembly point, where everyone will receive a briefing on social distancing and carpooling. Maximum participants: 10, plus two leaders. 
• Trailhead location: Trailhead Parking near Tucker Hill Road
• Reward: Visit Norwich’s “Grand Canyon” a scenic cascade, named (with tongue in cheek) by Bill Ballard. Walk through mixed hardwoods with a side tour up the Converse Trail to enjoy pasture views of Bragg Hill. Turn around near the Charles Brown Brook and return by the Ballard Trail.
• Length: 1.9 miles round trip with 170 feet of uphill. Those wishing to continue to Schoolhouse Road and cross the brook, may pre-arrange to drop their car off at Parcel 5.
• Difficulty: Easy grades, suitable for all ages.
• Web links: https://norwichtrails.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/ballardtrail-map.png
• Directions to trailhead from Dan & Whit’s: Follow Beaver Meadow Road (left past the Norwich Inn) 3.9 miles, just before a stream crossing and Tucker Hill Road. Look for parking on the left side of Beaver Meadow Road, downhill from the trailhead.
• Prizes: A small prize will go to the youngest attendee of the Marion Cross School and to the oldest Social Security recipient.
• Sign up: To register, email norwichtrailsignup@gmail.com. Put “Upper Ballard hike” in header of your email and state the number of participants in your party. Hikes are limited to a maximum of ten participants in total, plus leaders.

Cossingham Loop: Views of the White Mountains

• Meeting date and time: Saturday at 9 am, September 26, 2020.
• Meeting location: Marion Cross School parking lot near school-bus assembly point, where everyone will receive a briefing on social distancing and carpooling. Maximum participants: 10, plus two leaders. 
• Trailhead location: Cossingham Trails parking
• Reward: Views of New Hampshire mountains near and far, including Cardigan, Moose, Holts, Smarts, Cube, and Moosilauke. Fun switchbacks on the Appalachian Trail dip past crossing streams. Pass through a variety of woodlands. Lunch at Happy Hill Shelter. Find cellar holes and stone walls on the return route.
• Length: 4.1 mile-loop with 580 feet of uphill
• Difficulty: Moderate with ups and downs. Suitable for healthy adults and children.
• Web links: https://norwichtrails.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/overview-map-of-norwich-trails.png (look at Cossingham Trail-Appalachian Trail-Dothan Brook loop at bottom).
• Directions to trailhead from Dan & Whit’s: Follow Beaver Meadow Road (left past the Norwich Inn) 0.4 miles to Bragg Hill Road. Turn left and follow Bragg Hill Road 1.3 miles to Cossingham Road on left. Park at kiosk
• Prizes: A small prize will go to the youngest attendee of the Marion Cross School and to the oldest Social Security recipient.
• Sign up: To register, email norwichtrailsignup@gmail.com. Put “Cossingham hike” in header of your email and state the number of participants in your party. Hikes are limited to a maximum of ten participants in total, plus leaders.

Brookmead Trails: Get lost and be found!

• Meeting date and time: Saturday at 9 am, October 31, 2020.
• Meeting location: Marion Cross School parking lot near school-bus assembly point, where everyone will receive a briefing on social distancing and carpooling. Maximum participants: 10, plus two leaders. 
• Trailhead location: Norwich Farms, 723 Turnpike Road
• Reward: Enjoy the views of our rural countryside as you climb into the forest, or find quiet and solitude as you wander the miles of single-track trails through the woods. The trails on this property connect with Norwich’s Parcel 5 trails, and the Blue-Ribbon Connector trail. 
  This property supports local agriculture, education, scientific research, and multi-use recreational trails.
• Length: Network. The hike will be an approximately 2.5-mile “lollipop”—an out-and-back that connects to a loop with 320 feet of uphill, where we’ll see connections to Parcel 5 and the Blue-Ribbon Connector Trail.
• Difficulty: Easy grades, suitable for all ages.
• Web links: https://uvlt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BROOKMEAD_brochuremap.pdf
• Directions to trailhead from Dan & Whit’s: Head north on Main Street 0.4 miles to Turnpike Road. Turn left and follow road 2.2 miles to 723 Turnpike Road. Trailhead with kiosk is visible on the left.
• Prizes: A small prize will go to the youngest attendee of the Marion Cross School and to the oldest Social Security recipient.
• Sign up: To register, email norwichtrailsignup@gmail.com. Put “Brookmead hike” in header of your email and state the number of participants in your party. Hikes are limited to a maximum of ten participants in total, plus leaders.

Feedback: If you want to discuss a problem with our trails or with our website, please contact norwichtrails@gmail.com.