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Massachusetts
5
Massachusetts State Parks
Great space where your adventure can link up with other great spots. Coming from Groton on the rail trail, one can take a left at the Common Street crossing (just after the tree farm) and enter J. Harry Rich where the road ends. Then follow the trails and keep the river to your left and eventually you will meet back up to the NRRT. A nice and flat diversion! Also right next to Shepley Hill conservation area, which is very hilly - so I love to mix up the hills with the flatness of the Rich state forest. There are some very nice and secluded spots on the river that are great for picnics or not doing anything. 
J(oseph) Harry Rich was my grandfather. He purchased this land mostly in about 1917. He taught forestry at UMass in Amherst. During the summers, he employed his students to manage the tree farm. They would employ different techniques for pruning, brush clearance and the like to assess the impact of these on growth rates and the quality of the lumber produced. There has never been a man so in love with the forest. I caught my first fish in the Nashua River in about 1960. Of course, in those days we were afraid to eat the fish because of the upstream pollution by various paper mills and such. Although he died in about 1968, he would be pleased that the pollution has been largely mitigated and that his beloved tree farm has been preserved. 
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