Name: Urban Forestry Center
Location: 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801 (see directions at end of article)
Phone: (603) 431-6774
Details: 182 preserved acres managed by NH state agency with marsh, woodland, fields
Resources: extensive parking, historic cemetery and home, self-guided walking trails, educational classes, herd garden, bird observation areas, meeting complex, farmed areas, exhibits.
Rules: Carry in, carryout, dawn to dusk, beware of private property located in and around the forestry center
Dogs: Allowed on leash
More info:  Official web site

According to the Urban Forestry web page, this unique resource on a quiet road on the outskirts of Portsmouth is "just waiting to be discovered". Those who know it, visit often. Others in town may look back blankly when asked where the city forest is located. Do we have an urban forest?

And it can be confusing. This land was part of the original 18^th century Langdon family farm where Gov. John Langdon’s father used enslaved labor at what amounted to a northern plantation. The family cemetery plot is still there under an ancient tree along a grass-covered roadway on the edge of wooded area. John Elwyn, a descendant of the Revolutionary War patriot and governor, donated 182 acres with a trust fund to establish and maintain the center in 1976. It is managed today by the Division of Forests and Lands of the Department of Resources and Economic Development. The name is a mouthful and, despite the tremendous and open facility, most people we spoke to had no clue who runs the fields, wetlands, farm and forest area.

The center offers a variety of educational programs from a cluster of buildings on the Forestry Center campus. The land includes a superb array of easy-to-walk trails (also for cross-country skiing and show shoeing) through all sorts of gentle winding terrain. The city is all around and the trail wanders to the Sagamore Creek where busy Route 1 and the local radio station towers are visible across a stretch of wetlands. This preserved area is an important "transition zone" or buffer between the land and the sea. Sadly, much of this wetlands area has already been filled and turned into commercial land, making the Urban Forestry Center more important than ever.

A printed guide to the trails is available. It includes a detailed trail map which you should pick up until you become familiar with the system. The guide also offers details on flora and fauna en route. Another booklet offers details on the well-maintained herb garden at the Langdon Farm building.

From the Urban Forestry web site:

The Tree Identification Trail is a self-guided walk that leads visitors through the Center’s Mixed Deciduous Forest, Northern Hardwood Forest, Saltmarsh Wetland, Red Pine Plantation, and Blue Spruce Plantation.

The Goodwin Trail is a two-mile (round-trip) trail which takes visitors through a scenic woodland setting, where native wildflowers, birds, and animals can be seen.

Directions to the Center:

From Interstate 95 Northbound/Southbound: take Exit #5 to the Portsmouth Traffic Circle. From the Circle, take Route 1 Bypass South. This will merge into Route 1 South. Proceed about 2 miles thru a series of five lights. At the next set of lights you should be in the left turn only lane (Market Basket will be on your right). Turn left onto Elwyn Road. Take the first left turn (approximately 500 feet) into the Urban Forestry Center road to the parking lot.

CONTINUE Urban Forestry Center photots