Wege Foundation Natural Area, 11715 Vergennes Road, Lowell

9-18-26
It's been a few years since we've been here and today was a great day for a walk.
Prior to European settlement, this property was a mix of black oaks, shrub swamp, and oak hickory forest. By the 1930s, the western half was clear cut and the eastern half partially logged.
In 1960, Reg Cridler bought the property and planted several acres of pines and built a small cabin, which is still there today. The land stayed in the family until 1999 when the family offered to sell it if it would remain a preserve. The Wege Foundation donated the money to the Land Conservancy for the purchase. So we can all still enjoy walking the trails today. 

11-26-20
Our first time walking here was last Thanksgiving and it is a great place to hike. Don't miss the cabin in the woods.
We appreciated the natural beauty of the place, especially pine tree alley.

12-25-20
By Christmas Day, there was some snow on the ground and we walked a few loops we didn't catch last time.
Our last find of the day was a perfect Christmas tree, unadorned and lovely.

1-4-21
With more snow on the ground we were unsure of walking other parks so returned here again. Some of the paths were snow packed & a little icy but it was doable.
On our last visit, we had spotted this red ribbon but only found out later it was part of a spot-the-ribbon-take-a-selfie park contest. We are too late to find all the others in various parks but did document this finding.
Someone had taken the time to build a snowman and I took another photo of pine tree alley.
The trails are fairly well marked but a few more signs could be used at 'forks in the road.'  Here's an overview map along with a diagram of where we walked :-)
There are some mild elevations but nothing too serious. We hiked between 2 and 3 miles each time.  Don't miss this beautiful piece of nature!

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