Towle Land (112 acres)
Access: Street parking lot; westford Street near Munroe Hill Road; Bingham Road.
Parking: Westford Street parking lot.
The Towle Land offers wonderful varied terrain. High rolling fields border Westford Street, and the surrounding woods have rocky hills, as well as streams and wetlands. Near the small pond by the parking lot there is a cow tunnel(1) built by Dr. George Towle around 1912, that runs beneath Westford Street near the speed limit sign. Dr. Towle sold the 84 acres of land to Carlisle in 1968 and the town purchased the remaining acres from abutters between 1968 and 1971.
An extensive trail system weaves throughout the Towle parcel, which is a popular cross-country ski area in winter. The rich variety of wildlife habitats makes this an especially good spot for bird watching. For years a public bird walk has been held here in May during the warbler migration. Bobolinks still nest on Towle Field, although their numbers have declined, probably due to changing habitat. The male bobolink is the only songbird in North America that is solid black underneath and mostly white above. Towle Field is mowed at the end of summer to give the bobolinks time to finish their nesting season. Over the past few years, the invasive European buckthorn has spread throughout the fields, perhaps further contributing to a decline in number of nesting bobolinks. The Conservation Commission is researching this, and developing a plan to control the buckthorn and bring back native plants. The fields also contain lush poison ivy in the summer months, so keep to the trails and keep an eye on children or pets .
The trail from the Westford Street parking lot enters the high field and circles it. Another trail at the bottom of the field loops off into the woods and meanders down through wetlands and rocky outcrops, before rejoining the fields. Many side trails off the main woodland loop offer further opportunities to explore; one connects the woodland loop with Bingham Road.
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