Bigelow Woods, Soutter Field, and Hubbard Brook Farmfield

Year Acquired / 1993 & 2008

Size / 95 acres

Trails / 1

Properties / 4

These CLCT properties are perhaps most valued as an iconic farming landscape, with cows grazing in the field and cornstalks appearing in their rows in spring. Yet behind them lie another 65 acres of the forested floodplain of the Sudbury River.

Mary (Bigelow) Soutter donated 77 acres to CLCT in 1993. In 2008, another 18 acres were purchased from her estate with generous member donations and Community Preservation Act funds from the Town. Both acquisitions represent an important step in CLCT’s initiative to save local farmland.

Features

Lovely river views, hardwood stands, active farming

Trail Conditions

Level terrain, some wet areas and uneven footing along the field

Entrances / parking

On street parking:

Cars may park on the shoulder along Sudbury Road.

Off street parking:

Turn east into the driveway that is immediately to the left of the driveway to #657 Sudbury Road. Park in the parking area on the left, owned by the Walden Woods Project. The trailhead is across Sudbury Road and just to the left.

Download map for Bigelow_Soutter_HBFF

Explore the land

Bigelow Woods trail by the Sudbury River

The trailhead begins at Sudbury Road between the fenced field and the cornfield. After running along the edge of the cornfield, the trail enters the woods and turns left towards the Sudbury River. Wander through the woods and you will end up at a gravelly bank overlooking the river. This place marks the east end of an old ford. On your return back to the field, you can take an alternate route parallel to the trail you came in on for a portion of the walk.

Soutter Field

The large Soutter Field at the southwest corner of the intersection of Route 2 and Sudbury Road provides pasture for cattle and chickens during the late spring and summer months, and is fenced.

Hubbard Brook Farmfield

To the south, the well-drained Hubbard Brook Farm Field is leased to a local farmer, who sows his first plantings of corn on about 12 acres. The entire crop is harvested in July, making it some of the first local corn available in the area, and allowing for a long season of rye and vetch cover crop to improve the soil.

Bigelow Woods

Perhaps the best way to experience the Bigelow Woods is from the river in a canoe or a kayak. There is about a half-mile of protected river frontage, and one can see a variety of birds and other wildlife while paddling by. Although Route 2 is just around the bend, its presence recedes quite remarkably in this tranquil place where the woods and river meet.