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**Ted Striker** · 10-09-2020, 11:19 AM

^^^ that's good

**liv2ski** · 10-09-2020, 11:25 AM

Yup, great picture

**spanghew** · 10-09-2020, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by jackstraw

That is Stone House Pond! Damn! Good eye! We were scoping the place out. It has so much mtn bike potential, but there are virtually no single track trails at this point.

When I was a kid in high school (a very long time ago) a friend and I used to cut classes and coerce a ride from someone and go out to Stone House Pond with our Goldline rope and shiny new hexes and clamber around on the rock. I wonder if it ever became much of a climbing area? It used to be private land for access--we had to jump a fence just off the road, if I recall. It's good to see the place again, thank you for posting that.

**jackstraw** · 10-09-2020, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by spanghew

When I was a kid in high school (a very long time ago) a friend and I used to cut classes and coerce a ride from someone and go out to Stone House Pond with our Goldline rope and shiny new hexes and clamber around on the rock. I wonder if it ever became much of a climbing area? It used to be private land for access--we had to jump a fence just off the road, if I recall. It's good to see the place again, thank you for posting that.

Yeah, still a small climbing area. A woman was cleaning some routes yesterday.

Stonehouse Forest consists of more than 50 parcels of land that were acquired over a period of years by an European investor. At one time, the landowner planned a private exotic game hunting reserve for the property. In 2015, prior to listing the property on the open market, the landowner offered the opportunity for conservation organizations to consider acquiring it as public open space. Later that year, SELT began negotiating with the owner and finalized an agreement to acquire the land in November 2015. Under the agreement, SELT agreed to close in the fall of 2017.

Fundraising efforts successfully raised $3.5 million to acquire, conserve, and steward Stonehouse Forest in time to meet the closing date in December 2017.

SELT now owns the land subject to a conservation easement held by the NH Fish and Game Department and the town of Barrington.

The conservation easement allows SELT, as owner, to use the existing woods road network and construct and maintain trails and information kiosks at trailheads in locations identified through the management plan developed for the property. SELT has the ongoing responsibility to manage, maintain, and repair the trail system it creates. This work is completed with staff, volunteers, and contractors.