Heald Pond
Only a stone’s throw from Kezar Lake and encompassing a portion of Heald Pond shoreline is the 800 acre Heald and Bradley Pond Reserve in Lovell. This beautiful preserve offers pristine natural views and hiking trails and abuts some very desirable lakefront property, as well.
I just returned from a guided hike up Amos Mountain, the newly acquired addition to this Reserve, owned and managed by the Greater Lovell Land Trust (GLLT). With this new acquisition from the Rogers family, the Reserve now includes the western shore of Heald Pond, access to the southern shore of Bradley Pond, much of Whiting Hill (elevation 801 feet), Flat Hill (elev. 891 feet) and Amos Mountain (elev. 955 feet).
Docent Dennis Smith explained to us that the Rogers family wanted the Greater Lovell Land Trust to acquire the property because they felt the GLLT knew “how best to protect it . . . This protects the wildlife corridor along Heald and Bradley Ponds extending north.”A variety of mammal species including Bear, Deer, Moose, Otter, Beaver, Fisher and Mink frequent this area.
Several miles of well-marked hiking trails are accessible from four access points—just east of Mill Brook off Slab City Road, two limited parking access points off Route 5, and the end of Heald Pond Road. At the Slab City and Heald Pond parking areas, you’ll find kiosks with maps.
The trials to Amos Mountain are not yet on the map and the trail is a bit rough, but if you stop by the GLLT office, Tom Henderson, Executive Director, can give you the best directions.
Two cairns are at the top where the view is currently limited. According to Dennis, the Rogers family maintained the views of Mts. Chocorua and Washington, plus Kezar Lake and the ponds for a number of years and they enjoyed taking family and friends to the top to enjoy. The GLLT has plans to eventually reopen some of the views.
This will be a special place for years to come for many reasons, but three special things stand out. We took a short side trip in to an American Chestnut tree, which used to be a dominate tree in the Boreal Forest. This tree is resistant to the blight that eradicated its ancestors. The second item of interest is that the Fernleaf-false Foxglove reportedly blooms on the ledgey summit in late summer and fall. This is a state threatened species. And finally, it is the hope of the GLLT that an old road leading to the summit will eventually become the first GLLT trail for handicapped access suitable to wheelchairs and scooters.
Accessing all the lakefront property currently for sale in the town of Lovell is easier than walking down a well-marked trail – just click below: