In 1989, Helvi Frilander gifted a 52-acre parcel of land in memory of her husband, Toivo. In 1998, Dr. Barrett and Mary Hazeltine chose to make a conservation gift of the landlocked parcel adjoining Mount Grace’s Fox Valley Wildlife Sanctury on Lincoln Rd. Mount Grace manages the area for forestry, water quality protection, and passive recreation using science-based stewardship practices in order to enhance the extensive MassWildlife Management Area located just downstream.
Fox Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
Fox Valley in Philipston is a 103-acre forest of mixed New England hardwoods and conifers, where a mile-long loop trail winds through diverse habitats, including wetlands that form the headwaters of the Quabbin Reservoir. Steep, rocky hillsides, cool seeps, and historic stone walls reflect both the area’s rich ecology and its past, alongside a sustainably managed forest shaped by FSC-guided stewardship.
Highlights & Activities
Trail Guide
Trail Map
Activities
Directions & Parking
Public Access
Fox Valley is open to the public for non-motorized outdoor recreation including hiking, bird watching, and nature study. Fox Valley is an amalgamation of different parcels donated to Mount Grace by different landowners, therefore hunting and fishing are allowed only on the Hazeltine parcel (~ the northern 50 acres).
Directions
166 Lincoln Rd, Phillipston, MA 01331
From Phillipston Common (junctions of Templeton and Petersham Roads), drive west on Petersham Rd and in less than 0.2 mile, bear right (east) onto Lincoln Rd. Pass the sign for the Popple Camp Brook Wildlife Management Area. The entrance to Fox Valley is on the right side of Lincoln Rd (less than 1 mile).
Parking is available in the parking area by the kiosk.
Views from the Trail
Trail Description
Fox Valley Wildlife Sanctuary Trail
The trail is rustic, yet it captures the essence of central Massachusetts: winding stone walls, a bubbling brook, and vibrant hardwood trees that all display their unique colors in the fall.
- 1.3 Miles
- Loop
- 118 ft Elevation Gain
About This Property
Ownership
Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust
Gifts From
Helvi Frilander (1989) and the Hazeltine Family (1998)
Fox Valley (which was given its name by students of the Phillipston Memorial Elementary School at its dedication in 1990) is 103 acres of mixed New England hardwoods and conifers. The mile-long loop trail winds through the property, highlighting the diversity of habitats, specifically Popple Camp Brook and associated wetlands, which are headwaters for the Quabbin Reservoir. The trail goes through relatively steep, rocky hillsides that are riddled with seeps. These moist, cool conditions create good habitat for plants like Christmas fern, and the west portion of the trail follows a stone wall where crossing perpendicular stone walls mark old pastures and homesteads.
Fox Valley is the site of Mount Grace’s 2010 sustainable forestry project funded by the federal Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. The project, compliant with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines, was planned and reviewed as part of Mount Grace’s application for green certification at Fox Valley.