Andover

Hop River Trail

Dates visited: 8/15/2020, 8/17/2020 & 9/5/2020

This is probably the best segmnent of the Hop River Trail. It is highlighted by the cover bridge that goes over Rt. 316. It was an overcast day on my initial visit, and while I got some good photos, I decided to re-take some of the bridge photos a couple weeks later when the weather was nicer. Access to the trail in Andover is behind the Andover History Museum, which is where the pictures in front of the tractor were taken. The tunnel in the photos passes under Rt. 6.

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Date visited: 6/18/2025

We continued our second go around on this trail, walking the 2.5 mile stretch between Steels Crossing Road in Bolton and Burnap Brook Road in Andover. The trail actually passes in and out of Andover a couple of times, and also scrapes the corner of Coventry. Pictures below are from the Andover section. You can see additional photos and read more about our trip on the Bolton page. Photos from the Coventry section are on that page.

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Date visited: 7/7/2025

We continued our revisit of the Hop River Trail, this time walking the 2.5 mile (5 miles out and back) section between Burnap Brook Road and the Lake Road parking area. This section includes the covered bridge, which is probably the coolest feature of the entire trail. On our way back, we visited Veterans Monument Park, which is right off the trail in the center of town. This was also the 11th day in a row we went out on an adventure (and 19 of the last 20). It's been a few years since we've gone out this many days in a row!

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Date visited: 7/11/2025

This is the section of trail from Lake Road to Parker Bridge Road on the Columbia town line. As mentioned before, we are revisiting the trail for a second time after initially completing it five years prior. There's a short path to a picnic table near the Lake Road parking area, that either wasn't there the first time, or I just didn't notice it. The tunnel under Route 6 is shortly past the Lake Road. After that, the trail isn't that interesting. We stopped at Parker Bridge Road, covering a 1.5 mile section of the trail (3 miles out and back). This is shorter than usual, but it made sense to turn around there for a variety of reasons...warm weather, the fact I had a non-dog related event later in the day, and that it seemed to be a natural stopping point.

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Doris E. Chamberlain Nature Preserve

Date visited: 5/3/2022

The All-Trails reviews for this trail were so-so, but I was pleasantly surprised. The main trail is the yellow blazed "Percy Cook Trail". It starts at a nice parking lot with a picnic area on Rt 316, and connects with Andover Elementary School, before ending at the Hop River Trail. There is a very steep hill to get down to the Hop River Trail, which of course means a very steep climb back up! On our way back, we used the orange blazed trails that loop back and around the Percy Cook trail. It was a very pleasant hike on a dreary day.

Bishop Swamp Wildlife Management Area

Date visited: 6/19/2021

I know it's impossible because we hiked a loop trail, but this trail seemed to go up way more than it went down! There's nothing out of the ordinary or terribly exciting with this trail. The highlight is the actual swamp, if you can call that a highlight. This one is completely forgettable.

Andover Veterans Monument Park

Date visited: 7/7/2025

If you've driven through Andover on Route 6, you've seen this park near the center of town. The park is in front of the Museum of Andover History, and overlooks the covered bridge over Route 316, part of the Hop River Trail. Monuments like these are an important tribute to those who have given so much to defend our freedom.