Longmarsh Preserve

Longmarsh Road | ~73 acres

DIRECTIONS: From the Durham Town Hall at the corner of Mill Pond Road, take route 108 south about 1.4 miles. Turn left (east) on Longmarsh Road, proceed about 1.3 miles to the end. Parking is available for several vehicles at the end of the class V portion of the road; beyond an iron gate the road continues as a class VI woods road/pedestrian trail.

Longmarsh Preserve Trail Map and Property Summary

ABOUT THE PROPERTY:

The Longmarsh Preserve consists of four contiguous parcels: the Langmaid Farm (45 acres), Colby Marsh (13 acres), and Horsehide Creek (15 acres). The forested sections of the Durham ransfer station property (~40 ac) add to the large area of open space in this region. The Preserve is within a large unfragmented – by roads or development – block of forest, wetlands, and old field habitats. Much of the Preserve is within the Crommet Creek watershed, an ecologically significant and unique drainage that flows into Great Bay. Within the headwaters of this watershed, the Town of Durham owns the northern section of Colby Marsh, a significant wetland with nesting osprey, great blue heron, wood duck and other birds, active beaver, and a host of other wildlife. The Langmaid Farm includes overgrown fields, stone walls, old foundations, bold rock outcrops, and beaver-influenced wetlands. Crommet Creek wends its way through the Preserve as it makes it ways to Great Bay just south of Adam’s Point.

The northern reaches of the Longmarsh Preserve drain north into Horsehide Creek, a small drainage that flows north into the Oyster River. Beaver are active in this creek, as they are in Crommet Creek. An Eversource utility right-of-way line runs through the Preserve, close to the height of land that creates the watershed divide. The Town's Longmarsh Preserve is surrounded by thousands of acres of land conserved by NH Fish and Game, The Nature Conservancy, and the Society for the Protection of NH Forests. Some of these lands are private and many do not have trails; please respect their boundaries.

The 4-mile long Sweet Trail begins at the parking lot on Longmarsh Road just west of Colby Marsh. The trail starts out along the class VI portion of Longmarsh Road, turns south just before the boardwalk, crosses the old stone bridge on the Longmarsh Preserve, meanders generally south into Newmarket, and ends at the shores of Great Bay. Other trails on the Preserve offer great views of marshes, open water, rocky outcrops, mature oak and pine forests, and lots of wildlife.

RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: