Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm

Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm is a 350-acre, FSC-certified forest that protects a vital buffer to Harvard Forest while expanding a major wildlife corridor stretching from the Quabbin Reservoir into New Hampshire. With 15 miles of thoughtfully designed trails—including educational loops and whimsical surprises—it offers a unique landscape for exploration, learning, and connection to the land.

Highlights & Activities

Trail Guide

  • 15 Miles of Trail
  • Easy - Moderate
  • Natural Earth Tread

Trail Map

Activities

Directions & Parking

Public Access

Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm is open to the public for hiking, nature watching, and horseback riding.

Directions

586 Briggs Rd. Athol, MA 01331

From the center of Athol: Take Rte. 2A East, take a right onto Rte. 32 going south and once you see the “Entering Petersham” sign, take a left onto Briggs Rd. 

From the center of Petersham: Take Rte. 32 north for 5.0 miles and take a right onto Briggs Rd.  

Parking is available in the parking lot to the left on Briggs Road.  

Views from the Trail

Trail Description

There are a total of about 15 miles of available trails for exploration. Marked routes vary from the short-and-easy Flatlanders’ route to the hillier 5-mile Curley-Q Trail. Garden gnomes and the occasional mermaid can be found throughout the property, peering out at hikers and riders as they use the miles of foot and equestrian trails. Mount Grace worked with Susie and Ben to create the Forest Learning Loop, where you can learn about the trees and natural features around you. At one point on this trail, you will encounter the Tri-Town Marker where you could physically be in Athol, Phillipston, and Petersham all at the same time.

One of the most popular hikes on the property is the 1.6-mile Learning Loop Trail.

Learning Loop Trail

Mount Grace worked with Susie and Ben to create the 1.6-mile Forest Learning Loop, where you can learn about the trees and natural features around you. The trail is relatively flat and can be easily shortened by following signs that read “shorter way back” that return you to the parking lot.

Gnomes of all sizes peek out from their hiding places along the trail, and informational signs are posted throughout giving you tidbits of information on tree species and landscape features. The Learning Loop will also cross over Cutthroat Brook – a perfect place to stop and listen as the brook flows across the forest floor. At one point on this trail, you’ll also encounter the Tri-Town Marker where you could physically be in Athol, Phillipston, and Petersham all at the same time!

View on AllTrails

Ownership

Ben and Susie Feldman

Year Protected

 2016

Ownership

Feldman family with Mount Grace board and staff at their White Oak, on record as the largest in the MA Legacy Tree Program.

From idyllic farm fields lined with stone walls to the burbling Cutthroat Brook – and a seemingly endless army of gnomes peeking out from every tree nook and cranny – Cutthroat Brook Tree Farm offers something for everyone.

The property is a 350-acre Forest Stewardship Council certified tree farm that abuts Harvard Forest near the Petersham/Athol town line. The land provides a critical wooded buffer to Harvard Forest’s long-term ecological studies that monitor the health of eastern forests, as well as extends a significant corridor of conservation land that allows unimpeded wildlife passage from the Quabbin Reservoir north to New Hampshire.

Ben and Susie Feldman thoughtfully conserved their property with Mount Grace in 2016 and have been creatively designing well-marked trails that allow you to roam at your leisure. Almost 15 miles of trails are available for exploration, including several trails blazed and maintained by the North Quabbin Trails Association. Marked routes vary from the short-and-easy Flatlanders’ route to the hillier 5-mile Curley-Q Trail.

If you’re interested in seeing the Triple Oak Tree featured in the NBC docuseries The Americas, you can do that too! The tree is a one-minute walk from the parking area, and it is a joy to revisit season after season.

Download Our Gnome Scavenger Hunt Worksheet for Youth

In 1947, Barbara and Richard B. Ellis bought 40 acres at the top of Briggs Road in Athol. The hunting cabin and colonial barn on the land had no electricity or running water, so the couple embarked on the first of a series of remodels and additions as they raised their children on the land. Barbara Ellis, a noted watercolorist, and Richard, principal of Athol High School, also began purchasing other neighboring parcels as they became available to piece together what was the historic Briggs Farm. When their daughter Susie moved back to town, after marrying her husband Ben Feldman, the family owned hundreds of acres of contiguous land in Phillipston, Petersham, and Athol. In 2016, Ben and Susie Feldman permanently protected 297 acres with a conservation restriction (CR), keeping that land in private ownership and undeveloped forever.

Funded by the MA Landscape Partnership Program, this conservation project was part of the multi-landowner, multi-partner Quabbin Heritage Landscape Project. The Athol Conservation Commission, Petersham Conservation Commission, and Phillipston Conservation Commission all co-hold this CR. The conservation of this property also leveraged the Quabbin to Wachusett Forest Legacy project.Owners Ben and Susie Feldman thoughtfully conserved their property with Mount Grace in 2016 and have been creatively designing trails to roam at your leisure.