Harvard has so many beautiful conservation lands that it is difficult to choose one for a Thanksgiving holiday walk, but the trails at the Holy Hill Conservation Area are guaranteed to satisfy anyone. The land has a natural beauty, a variety of landscapes, and imparts a transcendent feeling that is inextricable from its history as a Shaker community site (1791-1918).
The best place to start is the large parking area on South Shaker Road, where you’ll find an illustrated sign that provides some basic information about the Shaker way of life and describes sights you might see on the walk. The main trail starts off flat but turns and descends past a distinctive outcrop of rock, then crosses a brook with planks for dry passage. (It has been dry lately.) A little triangular sign on a tree advises you to take the left branch of the trail. At the top, turn left and you will soon realize that you are on a ridge from which you can see another long ridge in the distance.
Eventually, a half-mile from the parking lot, you will come to an opening in the forest surrounded by a falling-down white fence. This is the outdoor Shaker worship area known as Holy Hill of Zion. Pine saplings are growing in the once-cleared space due to nature’s drive to return to forest. In the center of this area is another illustrated sign with information about Shaker worship and a bench for resting or contemplating.
The main trail continues through an opening in the fence, down a rocky trail with exposed tree roots. Continue walking, veering right when in doubt. At a short distance you have the option to extend your walk by heading straight onto another loop of trail, or by turning right, through an opening in a stone wall into a cleared grassy field with a lightly worn trail running through it.
Having taken the trail through the stone wall and walked to the other end of the grassy field, you arrive at an intersection where there is another bench. You can choose to go straight on a picturesque trail with a stone wall border. Or, if you go sharply right, you can climb a really steep hill back to the top of Holy Hill. To walk through Shaker Village, take the left turn that puts you on pretty Maple Lane, lined with sugar maple trees that are tapped in early spring for their sap. You are walking on a public easement through private land. On both sides of the easement, there are fields of luminous grasses. You come upon the ruins of a huge Shaker barn and, around the corner of the ruins, there are stunning views of a wetland with a brook running through it. There are often ducks in the brook and hawks in the air. Then you emerge on Shaker Road in the Shaker Village. The recently restored stone herb drying shed is set back from the road but visible. The architecture of the buildings is distinctive, the views are lovely, and there is a feeling that this was once, and still is, a special place.
Along Shaker Road
As you walk south along Shaker Road you will pass a fire pond, a brook, and a large area of cattails. There are usually many birds on this section of Shaker Road. Turn right at the intersection and you are on South Shaker Road. After the Shaker cemetery with its distinctive white markers, you will arrive at an Edenic scene that includes the ruins of a Shaker stone barn that changes almost daily as its stones let go and fall to the ground. Two stone arches, one in front and one in back, will be the last to go. The large yellow building was once a Shaker dormitory but is now a private residence. A huge willow tree hangs over a pond. If you are lucky the chickens and sheep will be out.
Continue walking along the road and up the hill, being alert to cars and places where there may be blind spots for drivers. Soon the parking lot where you started will be on your right.
Adding to your walk
If you choose the longer walk, do not enter the grassy field but continue straight through the intersection on a well-defined path passing woods, a watery area, and through an open field. At the other end of the field, you dive back into the woods on a downhill path and arrive at Bennetts Brook, where there is a little point of land allowing you to get close to the clear water. After viewing the brook and its surroundings, continue on the trail that is parallel to the brook.
After you cross the brook on a sturdy bridge, continue on the uphill path. There are some impressive glacial erratics on the right. The path ends at Shaker Road, across from Shaker Hills Country Club. Turn right and walk along the road, keeping an eye and an ear out for pileated woodpeckers and cars. There is a sign marking the border of the historic Shaker Village, and soon you will pass the intersection of unmarked Maple Lane. If you choose to go down Maple Lane, you will come to an intersection with a bench which was described earlier in this article. If you turn left you will walk on a path bordered with a stone wall and fields on one side and a wooded hillside on the other. You will catch glimpses of Shaker buildings and maybe some sheep. The path turns sharply to the right going uphill and backtracks to the parking lot on South Shaker Road.
These trails are popular in all seasons. The walker can piece together longer or shorter loop hikes, depending on the trails taken, without completely backtracking, and road walking can be avoided by not going through Shaker Village.
