Horseshoe Pond

The Tree Farm Trail is a fairly easy hike through a variety of habitats. The trail starts out along Horseshoe Pond, a large man-made pond named for its obvious shape. You will hike past the pond and through a mixture of pine and spruce stands planted when this area was, well, a pine and spruce tree farm. The pines are an ideal place to see or hear barred owls. They like to perch in dense cover and watch for prey such as moles, chipminks, squirrels, young rabbits, and even other birds. If you want to try to observe the owls, try to visit the hiking trail around dusk. Owls are nocturnal, so it would be rare to see them during the daytime.