OpenStreetMap
This morning’s ramble was the Cochran Wildlife Sanctuary at Phillips Academy. I didn’t even know it existed before now. 65 acres, wide smooth walking trails, rhododendrons in full bloom. It says “dogs must be leashed”, but all the dogs we met were off leash. Four miles only got the main trails; will return to get the secondary trails.
Discussion
Comment from pselkirk on 21 May 2012 at 18:56
Went back this morning for all the side-paths. The azaleas were pretty much past, the rhododendrons were in a mixed state - some past, some in bloom, some just budding. The lady slippers are in full bloom, including one cluster of more than two dozen near the upper pond (I usually see them as solitary flowers). Unfortunately, the poison ivy is out too, so be careful if you wander off the main trails.
The map shows a long side trail on the southwest side, which doesn’t seem to exist anymore. At any rate, it’s overgrown with rhododendrons at both ends. If I need a machete to find the trail, it’s not a trail anymore.
On the southwest side, there’s an extensive ropes course, which you should probably avoid when it’s in use.
I should have mentioned that the whole 65 acres is surrounded by a 6ft chain link fence, with two locked gates at the north end. On the south end, there’s a gap large enough to drive a bike through, leading down to Rabbit Pond and the Missionary memorial marker (the school was originally the Andover Theological Seminary).