Andover Trails Committee - Robert Pustell Reservation




	Interactive Map Major Trail Systems Bay Circuit Trail Shawsheen River Greenway Andover Conservation Commission Land Carmel Woods Castle Park Doyle Link Mary French Reservation Hagget's Pond & Rail Trail Virginia Hammond Res. Merrimack River Reservation Penguin Park Pole Hill Pomp's Pond/Foster's Island Robert Pustell Reservation W. Elementary School Woods Wood Hill/Bald Hill AVIS Reservations Baker’s Meadow Burns Reservation Deer Jump Reservation Goldsmith Woodlands Greene Reservation Hammond Reservation Indian Ridge Reservation Keck Reservation Lupine Reservation Purdon Reservation Rafton Reservation Shawsheen River Reservation Skug River Reservation Smith Reservation Spalding Reservation Stanley Reservation Sunset Rock Reservation Taft Reservation Vale Reservation West Parish Meadow Wilkinson Reservation Massachusetts dcr Harold Parker State Forest Town of Andover Land Fish Brook Penguin Park Sanborn School Woods South School Woods W. Elementary School Woods Trustees of the Reservations Ward Reservation Other Land Cochran Wildlife Sanctuary Den Rock Park West Parish Cemetery			Robert A. Pustell Reservation Features: Glaciers that covered Andover shaped the topography of the property. The gently rolling terrain encompasses wetlands and certified vernal pools. For generations neighborhood children have delighted in exploring the steep granite cliffs, hidden caves, vernal pools, and identifying the ghost, mitten, and football shaped leaves of the sassafras trees. Deer, fox, and many other smaller animals are still seen by hikers. History: This property is named for Robert A. Pustell, an avid environmentalist and member of Andover’s Conservation Commission for over 25 years, who works tirelessly to preserve open space for the enjoyment of all Andover citizens. In the early 1900s, The Henry Jenkins Trust owned much of this property. Starting in 1921, the various parcels were sold for development, the most recent being the 1995 sale of 106 acres to the Regency Ridge development. The Conservation Commission obtained the various pieces of land that make up the Pustell Reservation through land purchases and donations of open space (conservation easements) from developers. Much of this area had been farmland at one time, including a pig farm that practiced an early form of recycling – the farmer drove to his neighbors’ houses to collect food scraps for the pigs. This land was also used in days past by Native American Indians. Indian artifacts have been found on the property. An Indian from the Indian settlement on Ballardvale Road where the Jenkins’ house later stood died of smallpox and is buried amongst the cliffs of this property. Suggested Walk: Several hundreds yards from the Ballardvale Road logging trail entrance, a marked trail branches off to the left. The trail takes the hiker up a steep path to the top of a ridge where there is a lovely wide view of several more cliffs and ponds. The path extends around other cliffs before dropping back to the original logging road. Starting from the Regency Ridge access, near the Conservation Commission markers, another trail passes near a vernal pool and around granite cliffs. Several other well-worn trails pass through tall pine woods.		Size: 84 acres Location: Ballardvale Road; Arcadia Road; Regency Ridge Road cul-de-sac; wood road continuation of Sunset Rock Road; Carter Lane cul-de-sac (at the gate, the trail goes to the right into the woods) Parking: Regency Ridge Road; Arcadia Road; Carter Lane

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