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Spring Hill Conservation Land
Spring Hill Conservation Land’s 181 acres, acquired by the Town of Acton between 1966 and 1995 through a series of purchases and donations, are home to a variety of wildlife, natural features, and recreational opportunities. The major entrance is along a short access from the Spring Hill Road cul-de-sac, off Pope Road with limited parking. A secondary (red-blazed) access to the Spring Hill (yellow-blazed) loop trail comes in through the Hearthstone Hill Land on Strawberry Hill from its entrance on Jay Lane, off Strawberry Hill Road. Parking is provided on Strawberry Hill Road opposite from Jay Lane. Spring Hill’s main perimeter trail, used extensively by hikers and cross country skiers, is 2.5 miles long. In addition to the two accesses already mentioned, there are four (red-blazed) connectors from this loop trail to the two contiguous conservation lands described elsewhere within this section. Two connectors go to the Nashoba Brook’s loop trail to the northeast, and two other connectors go to the Camp Acton loop trail to the south. Please refer to the descriptions for both Nashoba Brook and Camp Acton conservation areas for more information about their entrances and trail systems. Within the Spring Hill loop trail, a secondary (blue-blazed) trail, 0.2 mile, cuts between inner and outer curves of the main loop trail, thereby allowing for a shorter traverse of the Spring Hill property.
Spring Hill is covered with a deciduous forest of mostly red and white oak, red maple, and black and white birch. A scattering of beech, larch, hemlock, and white pine are found throughout. On the forest floor a distinct community of ground covers and low-story vegetation exists. These include mosses, partridgeberry, princess pine, and several other members of the clubmoss family, all of which are indigenous to wet or heavily shaded areas. The under-story vegetation is dominated by high-bush blueberry and swamp azalea. The Hearthstone Hill Land, now an integral part of Spring Hill’s southeast corner, is a 49-acre parcel extensively covered with a hemlock swamp. The Strawberry Hill access trail, 1.0 mile in length, leads from the cul-de-sac at the end of Jay Lane, off Strawberry Hill Road, and skirts the swamp along its westerly edge. The trail, which follows a predominantly upland area through a spectacular stand of beech extending down into the hemlock lowlands, crosses a boardwalk in a low area before joining the main Spring Hill loop trail close to its main entrance. The entire Hearthstone Hill Land is contained within a rectilinear stone wall.
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