Along Three-Cornered Pond Road

Along Three-Cornered Pond Road

From Parking Lot 2, cross Upper College Pond Road to where the trail begins by walking down the dirt road, Three Cornered Pond Road.

Crossing into the Pine Barrens: The Pine Barrens of southeastern Massachusetts were formed by glacial deposits of sand and soil during the last ice age, which ended around ten thousand years ago. The dry sandy soil is the foundation of the Pine Barrens. The sandy soil and the frequent wildfires that occurred in this forest have caused this habitat to evolve in remarkable ways. Nearly every plant and animal in the Pine Barrens has adapted to thrive in dry sandy soil and with frequent forest fires.

The Three Trees: There are three dominate species of trees in the Pine Barrens. The first you will see as you walk down the fire road is the tall, straight white pine. Count the levels of the branches to tell how old the tree is. Each level of branches represents one year of growth! The bent, gnarled pine trees with rougher bark are called pitch pine. They are a pioneer species that thrives in dry, sandy, fire-prone places where other tree species cannot grow. The third type of tree looks like a shrub but has leaves like an oak tree. It’s called scrub oak. Like the pitch pine they thrive in fire-prone areas. Scrub oak can survive a fire even if every part of the plant above ground is burned. Their roots can survive the fire and regrow stronger than before.

As you continue down the dirt road the terrain on your left drops off; this is a Frost Pocket.

Follow the walking path on your left at the sign for the Frost Pocket Loop.