Horse Hill Nature Preserve — Attraction in Merrimack

A great variety of trails and none are very difficult. Permitted uses include hiking, biking, running, xc skiing, hunting, horseback riding and snowmobiling. Lastowska Pond has a large beaver home and lots of trees felled by beaver. The ponds are great places to bird watch including great blue heron. Pay attention as we nearly stepped on a gardener snake sunning itself on the trail. Once you get about a mile from Amherst Road parking lot you will not see many hikers but you will see mountain bikers especially on the twister trail. The main loop trail is well marked along the trail but some of the trails have intersections are not marked. Also know that while there is a trail under the powerlines Spaulding Foundation and Rocky Trail is nearly impassable. My biggest beef with this preserve is the frequency we had to hike...

A beautiful place to bring the whole family :-) nice wide trails, very well marked and when you come to the marsh area about 10 minutes into the walk, across from the second bench that overlooks the marsh area in early June there will be four trees with no leaves on them right on the other side of the marsh and there will be four great blue heron nests and each Nest will have three babies squawking away waiting for their moms to come and feed them :-) they are there every year. I bring my daycare there and they catch frogs in the marsh area and we have so much fun. Last year I taught them how to build a lean-to :-) it is still there and we spent the better part of the day building it. I wouldn't go there right now if I were you. I went today and left about 10 minutes into the walk because it is so...

Great place to go for a walk, run or cycle. Miles of trails and ability to mix/match based on preference/distance. Pet friendly, but please be courteous of leash laws/cleanup. And, given its Merrimack, don't expect a difficult trail (mostly flat or slightly hilly), but some sections can get a little steep.

One thing to be careful of: bring a map or pay attention. There are usually white signs pointing you back to parking on the trail, but they're not at every intersection of trail. A wrong turn could add a 1+ mile detour.

Finally, they just improved parking capacity making it easier to get in/out now. If you had trouble finding a spot, you...