About Us

The Northborough Trails Committee's formal name is the Trails Subcommittee of the Northborough Open Space Committee. It was founded in February of 2001 when Arthur Cole went before the Open Space Committee to ask if they would be interested in creating a trail system in Northborough. They surprised him with their enthusiasm and they appointed him chairman of the subcommittee. Since then the NTC has actively searched for places to create and build new trails, as well as maintain the current trail system.

For more deatils of our history please read George Curtis' booklet:
The First Decade of the Northborough Trails Committee 2001 - 2011

The NTC is a formal Committee of the Town of Northborough, but all of the people involved are volunteers who share a common goal to provide access to the Town’s recreational areas by maintaining a viable trail system. Initially most of our members were recruited from the ranks of retired people, but that is only because of their availability. Over the last few years we have added people of all ages to our list of Volunteers, and we welcome anyone who wishes to participate in whatever way they can.

If you’d like to join the Northborough Trails Committee please contact the Trails Commitee Chairman

The specific mission of the Northborough Trails Committee is to make and maintain trails with the permission of land owners, public and private, we are volunteer "trail stewards", not land stewards or land managers. The NTC does not own the land the trails systems are on, nor do we have the authority to make land use policies, take any actions relative to property ownership, enforce rules, regulations, or laws, and NTC volunteers are not authorized to act in any manner to enforce land management rules, regulations or laws, instead the appropriate land owner or police authority should be notified of any such violation. The NTC should not be perceived by the public as taking on those enforcement roles because it will only cloud our real mission which is simply to make and maintain trails, and to act in an enforcement role would be exceeding the scope of our authority as volunteer trail stewards. The NTC acts as volunteer trail stewards under the auspices of the land owners, so we simply don't have the authority to act outside our scope of making trails (after obtaining all necessary approvals from land owners and other state and local regulatory agencies) and maintaining trails (as long as the land owner allows us to). If you have any questions regarding the mission and authority of the NTC please contact the Town Planners Office at 63 Main St. Northborough, Ma. 01532, email or contact the NTC Chairman.

There are currently eight recreational areas around Northborough that contain approximately 20 miles of wonderful trails as part of the Northborough trail system, and some of these connect to trails in other towns such as the Westborough Charm Bracelet trail system.

All of the trails in Northborough are multi-use trails (unless posted otherwise)

Allowed uses are:

  • Hiking
  • Mountain Biking
  • Skiing
  • Snow Shoeing
  • Equestrian. 
  • (The Sudbury Valley Trustees does not allow mountain biking on their trails at Cedar Hill and Sawink Farm.)

Motorized vehicles such as ATV’s are not allowed on any of the trails.
Hunting is allowed on the MassWildLife properties at Mt. Pisgah and Crane Swamp. 
Hunting is also allowed on the Town of Northborough land at Mt. Pisgah by permit, so be aware during hunting season. Check the MassWildLife link for hunting seasons.

Our Trails

  • Carlstrom II Forest
  • Carney Park/Cold Harbor
  • Coyote Trail
  • Edmund Hill Woods
  • Little Chauncy/Cedar Hill
  • Mt. Pisgah
  • Watson Park
  • Yellick Conservation Area
  • Stirrup Brook Trail

Other Nearby Trails

The Little Chauncy and Cedar Hill trails are also connected to the Westborough Charm Bracelet trail system. (A link can be found on the Links page.) A short trail on Juniper Brook Lane connects to miles of trails in the MassWildLife Management area in Westborough. Although most of the trails are not "stroller friendly", a jogging type stroller could be used on the Crane Swamp Trail and Cold Harbor Trail. Also, use our Links Page to find other stroller friendly trails in the area.

Past Chairman

Arthur Cole               2001 - 2006
Charlie Bradley       2006 - 2009
Bob Mihalek             2009 - Present