Groton comprises an exuberance of glacier-created geologic features as well as an extraordinary biodiversity. This 4-mile hike will lead you to outcrops, eskers, kames, kettle holes and ponds, beaver ponds, a great blue heron rookery, and beautiful woodland scenery. You will learn about the on-the-ground impacts of a 1-2 mile sheet of ice that existed 80-120,000 years ago and that fully receded around 14,000 years ago. You will gain an appreciation for the influences of geography and geology on the exceptional levels of biodiversity that attracted the first Indigenous peoples to our region and that you can still experience today throughout Groton.

Special Instructions: There is a small parking area in front of a gate across a discontinued road (Dan Parker Rd.) on Martins Pond Rd., about 1/4 mile west of Old Dunstable Rd. (This section of Martins Pond Rd. is named Rocky Hill Rd. on some maps.) If the parking area is full, please park on only the north side of Martins Pond Rd. (the side that the parking area is on).

This program is offered by the Groton Trails Committee as part of the Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture & History, an annual month-long celebration showcasing events and activities hosted by local partners celebrating the unique places, objects, and stories of the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. Hidden Treasures programs are free and open to the public. Click to discover more Hidden Treasures!