Joppa Hill's Trail Rebuild Runs on the Farm's Calendar

"We are delaying the trail work at Joppa one more week because they're having their big fall festival in two weekends," Bedford's conservation planner told the Conservation Commission on September 22. "So we're going to wait until the week after. So October, I guess it's the 12th."

Today is October 12. If that schedule held, crews are starting on the farm road at Joppa Hill Conservation Area this week. The road loops through the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill and links to Amherst and the Pulpit Rock Conservation Area. The project uses town conservation money and a town contractor on town land. Every decision about when and how it happens has been made around a nonprofit farm that, by its own account, gets no town funding to run.

Why the Fall Fair Went First

The town planned this work long before it reached the hill. In April, Bedford's Planning Department issued a request for proposals to regrade and rebuild the trails at the 189.3-acre conservation area at 174 Joppa Hill Road. Much of the document is about the farm's calendar. The Educational Farm leases 35 acres on the west side of Joppa Hill Road. It runs an outdoor preschool from September through June, with children on the land from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekdays, and a summer day camp that starts the week of June 22.

The RFP gave contractors a short list of weeks when the farm would have no children on site:

The town said it would rather have Segments 1 and 2 done during one of those gaps. It also said work could not take place during a scheduled farm event or keep one from going ahead. When the Conservation Commission approved the spending on April 28, the planner said it might not move quickly because the farm was "already into their season." She added: "So ideally, they would do the work when neither is in session, which is a narrow few weeks. So we might need to wait until, if we can't hit June, we might have to wait until August."

Neither window was used. At the Town Council's September 9 meeting, Councilor Fahey said the Joppa Hill trail improvements "should have started and could take up to 10 days." Two weeks later the start moved again, this time to clear the farm's Fall Fair on Saturday, October 10, which the farm calls its biggest community fundraiser of the year. The April RFP had listed the fair for September 29. The farm's later listing set it for October 10, and the trail crew's start date moved with it.

A Farm Road That Has to Hold a Tractor and a Stroller

The farm's needs also shaped what is being built. This loop is a working farm road, eight to 12 feet wide, with shrubs, trees and stone walls along both sides. The town's specification describes two kinds of users:

"The desired outcome is a trail surface suitable for strollers and wagons. The surface must withstand the operation of farm vehicles including tractors, animal trailers, and pickup trucks."

Three Bedford segments are included, 510, 575 and 500 feet long, for about 1,585 feet of rebuilt trail in total. The work goes in three layers:

1. Grading, then 4 to 12 inches of crushed gravel in mixed sizes to level the tread and help it drain.
2. Drainage features as needed, which may include rock, log or belted water bars, ditches, check dams, berms or drain dips.
3. A final layer of 4 to 6 inches of compacted gravel or nit-pack, graded and compacted.

The spec does not plan for any tree removal. Branches can be trimmed for access, and any other cutting needs the town's approval first. The land is also under a conservation easement held by the Piscataquog Land Conservancy. The RFP says the improvements are allowed under it, but contractors are told to keep in mind the easement's purpose of protecting habitat and scenic views.

A trail light enough for a wagon full of toddlers and solid enough for an animal trailer ends up as packed gravel with water bars, and it follows the same path the farm road already takes between the stone walls.

Who Pays, and Who Keeps the Gates Open

The trail work is the town's cost. On April 28 the Bedford Conservation Commission voted unanimously to spend up to $30,675 in conservation funds and hired Country View Landscaping, with Planning staff overseeing the job. The planner said five bids came in with similar scopes. She recommended the lowest bidder for its price and because it knew the property. When a commissioner asked about reviews, she said, "I believe Amherst has also selected the same bidder, so there would be some consistency in their work on both properties." That matters because Bedford Segment 1 continues into Amherst, and the RFP requires the Bedford work to fit with the improvements Amherst has planned on its side.

Day-to-day operations are a different story. The Joppa Hill Educational Farm describes itself as a nonprofit with one full-time staff member, a part-time groundskeeper and more than 100 volunteers each week. It says it cost more than $41,000 a month to run in 2025 and that it gets no funding from the town or the state. Visiting is free, and the farm asks for donations.

The fair that pushed back the trail work is the main fundraiser for an organization that pays its own way on land the town protects. The $30,675 gravel job waited until that weekend had passed.

What the Walk Looks Like Through Late October

What residents will see this month depends on rules the RFP set and on news the town has not posted yet. The RFP says the town will close the trails during reconstruction. Farm staff must still be able to reach and care for the animals, which can be moved to other pastures with at least two days' notice. During the school year, the preschool drop-off and pick-up area at the main access point has to stay clear, even if children are kept off the trails while work is underway. In September, Councilor Fahey said the trails would close during the project and sections would reopen as work moved along.

The most recent public word on the start date is the September 22 "October, I guess it's the 12th." No town minutes yet confirm that crews started, finished, or reopened any section. If the work starts on time and stays within the roughly 10 days mentioned in September, the loop could be fully open again by late October. The contract only requires completion before December 31, 2026.

The farm says it is open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk, and leashed dogs are welcome. Its Visit page has the trail map, which is the quickest way to see where the farm road meets the Amherst trails and Pulpit Rock.

If the weekend of October 24 comes and the gravel crews are still at work, families have an indoor option a few miles away. The Bedford Boomers Train Show is at Bedford Public Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday, October 25, from 1 to 5 p.m. The library says this year's display comes a month earlier than usual.

The Other End of the Loop

Pulpit Rock is the next stop on the same trail network, and the same Conservation Commission has a second project lined up there. On May 26 it voted 7-0 to name Tulip Trails the preferred bidder for a viewing platform at Pulpit Rock. Grant money covers 80 percent of the project. According to the May 26 minutes, the platform has to be commercial grade with an engineer's stamp. Tulip Trails' bid was the lowest once the stamp was included, and it planned to pre-cut materials to limit disturbance on site. The commission also discussed pressure-treated decking so winter hikers wearing micro spikes don't wear it down.

That project is at an earlier stage. Tulip Trails visited the site on August 21 and planned to share a design for review "in the coming weeks," according to the September 9 Town Council minutes. No later public record shows the design approved or construction scheduled.

The Bedford Public Library Foundation's fall fundraiser, Beyond the Book: An Evening with Laura Knoy, is on Sunday, November 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the library. By then, the Joppa Hill work should be either finished or close to its December 31 deadline. The next Conservation Commission minutes should say which.

At Pat Clancey Realty, we follow Bedford's meeting minutes for the same reason we follow its listings. Projects like this shape how a neighborhood works day to day. If you're curious how Bedford's conservation land and trail plans affect a particular street, a local market consultation is a good place to begin.