Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve

New Ipswich, NH 550 acres Visitor Guidelines Directions Download Map

Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve encompasses 550 acres in New Ipswich and Rindge, NH. The Preserve protects Binney Pond and much of its shoreline, more than a mile of the historic Wapack Trail, and habitat for moose, bobcat, and other wandering wildlife.

Northeast Wilderness Trust purchased the Binney Hill property in October 2016. The holding includes 488 acres across four southern New Hampshire parcels that preserve connectivity for the region’s wildlife and people. This land abuts the Binney Pond Natural Area to the north and Ashburnham State Forest to the south, and serves as a bridge between the Wilderness Trust’s Wapack Wilderness Easement (1,428 acres) and protected areas surrounding Mount Watatic in Massachusetts.

The Preserve forms a key corridor in a major forest block, tying together a total of 6,000 acres straddling the New Hampshire–Massachusetts border. This land is home to moose, bobcat, black bear, and deer. In addition, more than a mile of the historic Wapack Trail traverses the Binney Hill parcels, ensuring indefinite access for hikers, runners, and nature lovers alike.

Community support from Friends of the Wapack, the Town of New Ipswich Conservation Commission, foundations, and generous individual donors all helped make the conservation of Binney Hill possible. In 2020, the Preserve expanded by 47 acres with the Sawtelle Addition, and by another 15 acres in 2021 with the Steel Addition. More on the Additions is below.

If you are interested in acquiring hunting permission for Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve, please visit our Hunting Program page.

Every Northeast Wilderness Trust Ambassador Preserve has a Rewilding Photo Point. These stations engage passersby with the rewilding process, inviting people to take a photo and contribute to a timelapse that shows ecosystem changes as the land returns to Nature’s reign. Learn more and view all our photo points here.

The State of New Hampshire’s Wildlife Action Plan gave this area its highest habitat designation.

The Wapack Trail

The historic Wapack Trail runs through the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve. This 21.5-mile trail was created in 1923 by Marion Davis of New Ipswich, NH, Allen Chamberlain, and Frank Robbins of Rindge, NH. The skyline trail runs from Mt. Watatic to North Pack Monadnock, giving the trail its portmanteau name.

Though the trail was used by many in its early days, by World War II it had fallen into disrepair. The Friends of the Wapack, founded in 1980, led the revival of the trail. Although the Friends rehabilitated and repopularized the trail, the land lacked legal protection and remained vulnerable to development.

Over the years, protections have been pieced together along the Wapack Trail to safeguard both habitat and access. But there is still work to be done. The Wilderness Trust has been a part of that work by rewilding and protecting the land surrounding the trail through the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve, the Sawtelle and Steel Additions (more below), and the 1,428-acre Wapack Wilderness Easement.

Beaver by Rick Blanchette

Rhodora by Mike Przybyla

Turkey Vulture by Rick Blanchette

mountain landscape covered in snow and ice

Ice storm by Mike Przybyla

landscape picture of mountain laurel blooming

Mountain laurel in bloom by Rick Blanchette

Preserve Additions

The Steel Addition

forest path in the process of rewilding

In 2021, Northeast Wilderness Trust purchased 15 acres abutting the Preserve from Virginia Steel, who generously sold her family’s land at less than its full appraised value. “I’ve always been interested in conservation of any type,” Ms. Steel said. “I’ve been very happy this could be the outcome for the land.”

The Steel Addition is a small but mighty add-on to the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve. The additional land is located at the eastern entryway to the Preserve and helps to secure access via Binney Hill Road. The Addition boasts impressive ecological diversity with a small “pocket wetland” and two headwater streams.

Thanks to thoughtful caretaking by Ms. Steel and her mother, Margaret Gunn, the forest had a jumpstart on its way to becoming old-growth. Red oak and American beech provide acorns and beechnuts to hungry wildlife in the fall. Sign of moose, deer, porcupine, and coyote have been recorded on the Addition, and bobcat and bear are likely visitors. These and other species will continue to roam free at Binney Hill thanks to Ms. Steel, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the Quabbin-to-Cardigan Partnership, and generous individual donors.

The Sawtelle Addition

Person with a backpack hiking through the Wapack Trail on Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve.
The Sawtelle Addition links the forever-wild forests of Binney Hill to the Wapack Wilderness. The Addition includes a beautiful section of the Wapack Trail and serves as a critical migration route for wildlife. Alongside the State of New Hampshire’s Binney Pond Natural Area, this tract shields the entire Binney Pond shoreline from development.

The Sawtelle Addition sits in a narrow corridor that facilitates species movement in response to climate change. Game cameras on the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve confirm that a variety of species use this corridor regularly, including moose, bobcat, coyote, and other mammals. In its 2015 Wildlife Action Plan, the State of New Hampshire gave this area its highest habitat-quality designation.

Ken and Shirley Sawtelle purchased this property on Binney Hill Road in the 1970s for recreation and as a source of firewood. They enjoyed hiking on the Wapack Trail, taking in the view of Binney Hill Pond, and in the spring, breathtaking shows of mountain laurel, trailing arbutus, lady slippers, and trillium. In 1986, the Sawtelles built their dream home and settled in with the wildlife on the property. After Kenneth passed in 2018, Shirley generously offered to sell a portion of the land to Northeast Wilderness Trust. The Wilderness Trust officially purchased the property in early 2020 and added it to the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve.

A family of beavers on the property, though beloved, has made travel difficult along a primary access point to the Preserve, West Binney Hill Road. Unfortunately, beavers often suffer when their activities interfere with roadways. As part of the acquisition of the Sawtelle Addition, the Wilderness Trust installed a “beaver deceiver.” This tool allows the beavers to continue living on both sides of the road while regulating the water depth to maintain access to the Preserve.

The parcel’s wildlife and human value far outpace its modest 47 acres. The Addition’s location between the Wapack Wilderness Easement and the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve creates a contiguous protected area of nearly 2,000 forever-wild acres. It also safeguards the historic Wapack Trail for future generations: The trail meanders past the beaver pond over beautiful boardwalks built by the Ashby Boy Scouts in 2001. The boardwalks afford a pleasant hiking experience above the wet terrain, offer views of the pond, and provide protection for the fragile wetland soils and natural water flow below.

Binney Pond landscape images by Stephen Matter | Feature image and hiker by Zack Porter | Moose by Daryl Burtnett | Snowy pond by Rick Blanchette

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Jul
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Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve Expands Featured News Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve grew by 15 forever-wild acres with the Wilderness Trust's purchase of 15 acres from Virginia Steel, bringing the Preserve’s total acreage to 550. Read More >

Sep
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A Birdseye View of Binney Hill Featured News Get a birdseye view of Binney Pond and its overlook, thanks to volunteer George Carmichael! Read More >

Apr
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In the News: Muddy Pond & Binney Hill Featured News This winter, two Northeast Wilderness Trust Preserves were featured in local news. A big thank you to the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript and Wicked Local Kingston for highlighting these special places and the wilderness message! Read More >

Oct
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Rewilding Kiosk at Binney Hill Featured News Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve in New Hampshire got a brand new kiosk that welcomes visitors and illustrates the rewilding process. Read More >

Directions

Watatic Southern Terminus

MA-119, Ashburnham, MA 01430

Visitor Guidelines
Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve is open to the public for quiet exploration and enjoyment. Please respect the plants and animals who live here, show consideration to wildlife, other visitors, and neighboring landowners, know and obey the law, and leave the natural environment as you found it. Enjoy your visit and respect the following guidelines while on the land:

Welcomed Activities

Walking, hiking, snowshoeing & cross-country skiing
Photography, wildlife observation & nature study
Swimming, fishing, paddling & non-motorized boating
Dogs under voice or leash control
Hunting on the Preserve requires a permit, available at newildernesstrust.org/hunting

Prohibited Activities

Motorized vehicles (ATVs, dirt bikes, 4x4s, snowmobiles, or other motorized or mechanized vehicles)
Bicycles
Horses or pack animals
Camping, fires & fireworks
Loud music or radios
Trapping, hounding, or predator hunting
Cutting or damaging plants or trees
New trails or unauthorized trail maintenance
Launching & landing drones

Click here to read NEWT Preserve & Sanctuary Visitation Guidelines

The Wapack Trail

Preserve Additions

The Steel Addition

The Sawtelle Addition

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