Greensboro Ridge
Property Features
The Council acquired Greensboro Ridge Natural Area in 2008 in partnership with the Town of Hanover and its Trails Committee. The 112 acre property offers a breathtaking landscape as it climbs up the ridge and connects with the Appalachian Trail near Velvet Rocks. Within ten minutes of walking on this trail you will enjoy varied terrain including soft grass paths, wooded trails, and some more challenging footwork as the trail heads over bedrock outcroppings. Visitors will remark on the preserve’s ferny clearings, woodland streams, and dramatic rock outcroppings and glacial erratics.Trail Information and Property Map
The AT connector trail has moderate terrain and moderate incline. Sections of the trail require walking over rocks and boulders, so proper footwear to prevent slipping is recommended. A second short trail connects the Silent Brook neighborhood to the trailhead.
How to get there
From Greensboro Road turn onto Velvet Rocks Drive and continue to the trailhead parking area at the end.
SUCCESSFUL GEOLOGY TOUR OF GREENSBORO RIDGE
Greeted with a glimpse of a curious black bear, 27 waterproof would-be geologists joined Dr. Carl Renshaw on June 12 for a tour of our new preserve. We explored the deep history of our continent and the Connecticut River Valley as we hiked among the gneiss outcrops and sheltering hemlocks of the trail that connects Velvet Rocks Drive (off Greensboro Road) with the Appalachian Trail. Persistent drizzle did little to dampen spirits and enthusiasm for the trail and the topic.
Dr. Renshaw, professor of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth and a member of the Council’s board of directors, led the group through 450 million years of geologic history. He explained that highlands such as Greensboro Ridge are remnants of a volcanic ocean island chain captured between clashing tectonic plates. Pretty exciting stuff for a rainy day!
Watch this space for a diagram illustrating the area’s geologic origins.
