Denham Pond

106 Circuit Street, Hanover, MA, USA

Owned By: Town of Hanover

• Directions
• Trail Map

Hanover Conservation owns this property off Circuit Street. There are 1.2 miles of marked, intersecting loop trails through the woods, plus a pond, a vernal pool, and a field. Seasonal ice skating.

Features

This parcel was purchased with CPA funds in 2011. Formerly a well-managed forestry parcel, it contains an easy wood-road trail through wooded uplands, and mostly dry footpaths through wetland areas. There are two vernal pools on the east side of the property. Denham Pond, a small dammed pond located at the entrance to the property, has been well loved by generations of neighborhood children for summer fishing and winter skating. A vintage street lamp, long-since disconnected, still recalls nighttime skating parties encouraged by the generous former owner, Kenneth Denham.

Trail Description

There are two main trails, marked with green and red blazes. Some sections of the trail are steep. Altogether the trail network is about 1.2 miles.

Habitats and Wildlife

A coldwater brook winds through the property, with a boardwalk crossing over it. The property also contains a vernal pool. Vernal pools serve as an important breeding ground and are home to a number of amphibians and invertebrate animals. Also known as ephemeral pools, autumnal pools, and temporary woodland ponds, these natural sites fill with water in the fall or winter due to rain and rising groundwater. They stay ponded through the spring and into summer, but tend to dry completely by the middle or end of the summer. This occasional drying prevents fish from permanently populating the pools, allowing amphibians and invertebrate species to reproduce without being targeted by fish predators.

Fauna to be seen at Denham Pond include spotted and red-backed salamanders, wood frogs, white tailed deer, wild turkey, and red squirrel. Notable flora include stands of mature white pine and eastern hemlock, as well as red cedar, red oak, beech, holly, and the occasional yellow birch.