About Thanksgiving Forest

The Thanksgiving Ground Forest is a 45-acre Town Forest located adjacent to the "Farms 1" neighborhood in South Chelmsford. It borders on Russell Mill Pond's west bank and the Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle to the south.

The forest is a mix of hard and soft woods. There are also enormous outcroppings of ledge and massive boulders on the property. The extreme southern end of the Forest brings one to the upper end of Russell Mill Pond, where River Meadow Brook enters the pond from Carlisle.

Features:

• Parking
• Walking Trails: see Thanksgiving Forest trail map here                                                    About Thanksgiving Forest                       
• Picnic Area
• Canoe Launch
• Wildlife Viewing: see photos of Thanksgiving Forest wildlife below; e-mail David Koonce Thanksgiving Forest wildlife photos and videos; click here                               for Thanksgiving Forest YouTube channel
• Biodiversity: see link below to slideshow presentation on Thanksgiving Forest Pollinator Garden and Invasives Species Management

History. The area gets its name from the historic annual gathering of the men of the Town at a mass of boulders each Thanksgiving Day for a fox hunt.

Water. Thanksgiving Forest Pond offers great water-based recreation potential. It is only a short carry with a canoe to get from the end of Janet Road to the canoe launch (shown here) at the edge of the Pond.                                            

Biodiversity. Neighbors in the Janet Road area created a 25' x 10' kidney-shaped pollinator garden that supports declining species of bumblebees over an entire season. The garden includes 12 native nectar and pollen plants attracting these at-risk bumblebee species; click here Version Options Thanksgiving Ground Forest Headline Version Options Thanksgiving Ground Forest Headline for slideshow presentation.

Thanksgiving Forest Wildlife