Foss Farm (55.2 acres)
Access: Bedford Road parking lot; trail from Great Meadows Natural Wildlife Refuge.
Parking: Bedford Road parking lot.
Carlisle purchased Foss Farm in 1971 from Bill Foss for conservation and recreational use. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and the Concord River border this property to the south and east. Of all the lands managed by the Conservation Commission, Foss Farm probably supports the most intensive and varied use. Each summer, local residents tend about 70 community garden plots(1) and a local farmer cultivates the large fields. Horseback riders frequent the pony ring(2) and trails and the North Bridge Pony Club often meets here.
It's also frequented for training bird dogs and sled dogs, as well as for bird watching. In the spring, woodcock, bluebirds, barn and tree swallows nest on the land and indigo buntings, owls, rough legged and red tailed hawks are also frequent visitors. In the autumn, deer come to eat the corn leftover from the harvest and in 1998 a young bear was sighted several times. Foss Farm also sports field flowers such as goat's beard, motherswort, pineweed and shrubby cinquefoil.
Many trails wind through Foss Farm. From the parking lot on Bedford Road, follow either the dirt road toward the community garden plots, or choose one of many branching foot trails. The flat land and well-established (but sometimes sandy) dirt roads linking the garden plots and other features also make this area reasonably accessible for visitors in wheelchairs or strollers.
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