Town Forest
Location
A small parking lot provides access to a trailhead for the Wilmington Town Forest trails.
Created by a vote of the Town meeting in 1975, and transferred to the care, custody, management and control of the Conservation Commission in 1985, the Town Forest is the largest parcel of conservation land in Wilmington. It is also one of the few areas of upland protected for passive recreation. The Forest contains the highest point in Town, with sweeping views toward Boston and surrounding communities. There is a water tower at the top of the hill, and an
access road that can be used in conjunction with surrounding trails for walking, jogging, bicycling, and horseback riding. The hilltop is an excellent site for observing bird migrations, and a variety of small mammals and birds inhabit
the mixed hardwood forest. The Forest abuts Camp 40 Acres, private land owned by Wilmington Junior Camps, and is often used by Scouts and other groups based at Camp 40 Acres. Links to the Bay Circuit and other trails owned by the
Andover Village Improvement Society (A.V.I.S.) just across the Andover town line could be developed.
Walked in trail from parking spaces near White Oak Drive. Found water tower. Circumvented water tower. Limited view due to trees. Returned by fire road and road. Met another walker with two dogs on fire road. Trail was somewhat easy to follow and not too obstructed by branches. It was mostly by luck that we selected correct trail at trail splits. Mosquitoes were very bad, I was protected by head net and my only exposed skin was my hands. They flocked in front of my face on the net. We moved as rapidly as we could, to avoid bites. Hiking sticks were very helpful. Walk took about 40 minutes. Had prepared our selves with map from yahoo and map of town conservation areas.