Green Woodlands is a multi generational family limited partnership with a goal of preserving a little piece of nature for many future generations. Our primary activities are wildlife management, research and education, historical preservation, environmental research and education, sustainable "green" forestry and forest property preservation. We currently have approximately 23,000 undeveloped acre
s of land under forest management in the towns of Lyme, Dorchester, Orford and Wentworth, New Hampshire. The property has eight remote ponds with the largest being Cummins Pond at approximately 160 acres. Recreational Use of Property
We allow the public on the vast majority of the more than 23,000 acres of Green Woodlands property, we have only about 20 acres that we ask the public for our privacy, this area is clearly marked, I am sure you agree that this is a reasonable request. We allow many uses of the property but there are some uses that just do not coexist well with our version of connecting to nature. We therefore are very strict about not allowing motorized wheeled vehicles onto the property. This prohibition includes 4 wheelers, motorcycles, cars, and trucks. We also do not allow camping or camp and cooking fires of any kind. We appreciate your assistance with these requests. Cross Country Ski Trails
We have approximately 50 kilometers (35 miles) of groomed yet wilderness classic and skate cross country ski trails. These trails are groomed by us. In the winter we also make available four warming huts to use on various trails. There are two entrances to the cross country ski area, one is on Dorchester Road between Reservior and Cummins Pond in the Lyme area. The other entrance is on 1756 NH RT 118 in Dorchester, New Hampshire. Snowmobile Trails
We have over 40 miles of snowmobile trails on the property. There are two snowmobile clubs that groom trails on Green Woodlands property: Baker River and Lyme Pinnacle snowmobile clubs. Hiking or Trail Running
Hiking and trail running are welcome on any of the trails during non-winter months. Please yeild right of way to mountain bikes particularly on the single track trails. Please do not walk or run on the cross country ski trails during the winter. Fat Bikes, Walking and Snow Shoes
Sorry our cross country ski trails cannot handle fat biking or walking in the winter months. Of course you can walk to the Barnhouse to use the loaner skis. Please do not ski in the rain, it just hurts the trails for everyone else and creates a lot of additional work for us. Snow shoes are okay to use on the ski trails. Horse Back Riding Trails
There are nearly 50 miles of trails on the property that are great for horse back riding. The double track, 15-20 foot wide trails are most appropriate for horses. We do ask that horses not use the single track mountain bike trails. The single track mountain bike trails are 3-4 feet wide and are just not safe enough for a bike and horse to use. There are many wood bridges on the property so we ask for safety that horses be walked across or around a bridge. The focused weight of a horse can be problematic with individual wood boards on bridges of various ages. There are two parking areas for horse trailers, one between Reservior and Cummins Pond on the Lyme side of the network and the other on Clough Road in Dorchester. The other parking areas cannot accommodate horses. Dogs on Trails
This is a controversial topic but assuming they are extremely well behaved with other dogs and skiers they can join you. If a dog does interfere with others, a skier may ask you to leash your dog. It is extremely difficult for a skier to avoid a dog while skiing down a high elevation ski trail so we would recommend not bringing dogs on the upper section of Smarts Mountain Trail or the upper section of Mudgett Trail. Mountain Biking
We have approximately 70 miles of mountain bike trails with half being machine built single track trails. Our property is open to Mountain Biking from June 1st until November 5th. Sorry no winter fat biking. Maps
At the intersections for the majority of ski and bike trails there are 24" by 36" map kiosks to show you where you are. You can also download a geo-referenced ski and bike trail map at our website Greenwoodlands.org. Maps are also available on the Trailforks app in both MacOS and Android, visit Trailforks.com for the app. The main section of Green Woodlands is about 35 square miles so learning to use a map and compass and orienteering is an extremely valuable skill to have in exploring the forest. Hunting
Part of the culture of New Hampshire is hunting. In fact, the vast majority of people we run across in the woods are hunters and they seem to be extremely active and concerned with protecting the environment. We do allow ethical hunting according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game rules and regulations. Please remember that we do not allow motorized wheeled vehicles onto the property so if you do harvest a large game animal, you need to be prepared to get it off the property without a vehicle. Fishing
There are seven ponds on the property with the largest being Cummins Pond at about 160 acres. There are no fish in any of the ponds so do not bother fishing for bass, perch, pickerel, catfish, or trout. We are pretty good about lying about the absence of fish as well as about the size of fish we catch. If you really want to waste your time fishing we do ask that you not use gas engines on the ponds. To insure water quality we ask that only electric motors be used on the ponds. We do have an electric motor and battery to use as a loaner to avoid the use of gas engines. Just ask and we will tell you were the loaner electric motor and battery is kept. Wildlife Viewing
Green Woodlands is not a zoo or a staged nature preserve, this is a real wilderness area with an abundance of wildlife. If you want to see wildlife on Green Woodlands property you need to put forth the time and effort. The wildlife in this area are not accustomed to people, this is their natural habitat. Some of the wildlife are, moose, bear, deer, coyote, bobcat, fisher cat, mink, fox, beaver, porcupine, rabbit, muskrat, raccoon, weasel, and otter. The winged neighbors are turkey, eagles, falcons, loons, egret, grouse, herons, kingfishers, mergansers, hawks, owls, and much more. A good resource is New Hampshire’s Fish and Game website, http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us. Fall Leaf Changing
Wow, this is always a fabulous time of the year and it always is stunning each and every year. You have to experience it to appreciate it. History Exploration
Green Woodlands is located in the towns of Lyme, Dorchester, Wentworth and Orford which were all founded between 1740 and 1780. At one time New Hampshire was only 20% forested because most of the land was logged and in farm use. Today New Hampshire is over 80% forested and those abandoned homesteads and farms from the 1700’s still exists in the forest with hundreds of thousands of miles of stone walls and cellar holes. So far we have found over forty homesteads on Green Woodlands property along with close to 800 apple trees that were planted in the 1700 and 1800’s adjacent to these homesteads that were abandoned in the mid 1800’s. It certainly was surprising to us to even find a number of cemeteries that were lost for over 20 years on the property. Groups
Please no groups over six people, and no buses. The roads coming near the property can no way handle a bus, the last time one tried it ended up tipped over in a ditch. No fees required to use Green Woodlands Property
There are absolutely no fees to use Green Woodlands property but we hope to earn a SMILE in exchange. This type of "payment" is much more valuable than any kind of monetary gain we could ever receive. Bringing that SMILE home after visiting Green Woodlands property is also a way of multiplying the exchange. Commercial Activities
We do not charge anyone for the use of Green Woodlands property in any manner and we do not expect anyone else to charge for the use of the property either. This includes any other organizations whether they be for-profit, non-for-profit, group or individual that wants to do tours, guides, lessons, training, equipment rentals, group activities, advertising or any other commercial, monetization or donation base use of Green Woodlands property.
