{"id":243,"date":"2015-12-16T16:14:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T16:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/35.170.61.20\/wordpress\/?page_id=243"},"modified":"2015-12-16T16:14:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T16:14:59","slug":"grassy-pond","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/?page_id=243","title":{"rendered":"Grassy Pond"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1458\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1458\" style=\"width: 474px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"\/map\/?goto=Grassy+Pond\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1458\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/GrassyPond-1024x790.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"366\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1458\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px;\">click map for full-screen online map<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/mGrassyPond.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grassy Pond Map (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><b>Location: \u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Northwest of Acton Center, between Nagog Hill Road and Newtown Road, toward Littleton<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Loop trail:<\/b> \u00a01.1 miles<\/p>\n<p><b>Acreage:<\/b>\u00a0 106.9<\/p>\n<p><b>Terrain\/Trail Conditions:\u00a0<\/b>Largely level from Newtown Road, including long boardwalk segment; from Nagog Hill Road slopes downhill toward pond; quite stony; trails occasionally wet in some places<\/p>\n<p><b>Entrances:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Southwesterly side of Nagog Hill Road, 1.25 miles from Acton Center (<\/span><b>P<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">arking;<\/span><b> K<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">iosk at end of meadow)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Northeasterly side of Newtown Road, west of Lincoln Road (<\/span><b>P<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">;<\/span><b> K <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">along access trail)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">End of Willis Holden Drive, off Hammond Road via Samuel Parlin Drive<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<hr \/>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grassy Pond and Nagog Hill Conservation Lands are contiguous properties, each with its own self-contained trail system. Together the two<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">properties contain 273 acres within which a more than 3-mile circuit can be made by using the 0.2-mile red connector between the two trail systems. This connector leads into the Nagog Hill Conservation Land directly across Nagog Hill Road from the main Grassy Pond parking lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grassy Pond Conservation Land comprises diverse habitats and ecosystems. These include the pond and its associated wetlands, two small streams, a<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vernal pool,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a boulder field within moist woodlands, a large meadow, and forest vegetation of white pine, hemlock, and northern hardwoods. These latter include white ash, red and white oak, and some beech. In the spring, the white blossoms of dogwood trees may be seen scattered through the woods. Mosses are abundant in this moist forest, covering many stones and tree stumps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This property\u2019s trail system consists of a yellow loop trail that makes a circuit of the long rectangular upland portion, together with one blue crossover trail and three red access trails. The blue trail is a shortcut between two sides of the main loop and intersects the loop trail on its southerly side at the junction with the red access trail from Willis Holden Drive. The primary access trail enters from the Nagog Hill Road parking lot, passing through the northerly end of the meadow. The red access trail from Newtown Road is quite long and passes over a 425-foot boardwalk through a diverse red maple swamp at one of the pond\u2019s two outlets, offering a view of the wetlands that is otherwise inaccessible. The trail then passes through a stand of northern hardwoods before connecting with the yellow loop trail close to the short blue trail leading to the pond.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grassy Pond itself has formed in a kettle hole that resulted from the glaciers\u2019 retreat; it exhibits bog characteristics around its perimeter. Nowhere is the pond more than 15 feet deep, although the level has fluctuated since the late 1990s due to beaver activity. The gradual invasion of the pond\u2019s shoreline by plant species that thrive in very wet and highly acidic habitats will cause continuing shrinkage of the open water through an ever-quickening process of eutrophication. Leading this advance are pitcher plants, leatherleaf, highbush blueberries, larches, and red maples. A short blue trail off the yellow loop trail leads down to the water\u2019s edge, where a wooden pier with observation platform reaches into the pond. Provided with benches and surrounded by bog species, this platform is open to excellent views and allows appreciation of the bog\u2019s characteristics. Grassy Pond and nearby Nagog Pond, which is accessible from Nagog Hill Conservation Land, each demonstrates a different phase in the natural life cycle of ponds.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both are among the Commonwealth\u2019s \u201cgreat ponds\u201d (defined by the state as \u201cany pond or lake that contained more than 10 acres in its natural state\u201d); they are the only two such ponds in town.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An understory plant that is prevalent on the Grassy Pond land is the vase-shaped witch hazel. Along the southerly side of the loop trail, there is a small grove of young hemlocks close to a fairly large vernal pool. The trail passes through the hemlocks and then skirts an impressive boulder field. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The large meadow adjacent to the Nagog Hill Road parking lot,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kept open by seasonal mowing, contains several birdhouses suitable for bluebirds, which frequently nest there. The Grassy Pond land in general provides good habitat for many birds including pileated woodpeckers, which enjoy the hardwood forest. Owls, warblers, and other songbirds may also be seen. There is evidence of deer and coyotes, too. The many stone walls and remains of other stone structures speak of the historic uses of this area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/mGrassyPond.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grassy Pond Map (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/map\/?goto=Grassy+Pond\">Grassy Pond Map (full-screen online map)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grassy Pond Map (PDF) Location: \u00a0Northwest of Acton Center, between Nagog Hill Road and Newtown Road, toward Littleton Loop trail: \u00a01.1 miles Acreage:\u00a0 106.9 Terrain\/Trail Conditions:\u00a0Largely level from Newtown Road, including long boardwalk segment; from Nagog Hill Road slopes downhill toward pond; quite stony; trails occasionally wet in some places Entrances: Southwesterly side of Nagog &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/?page_id=243\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Grassy Pond<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-243","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/243\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trails.acton-ma.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}