Metro West

Chestnut Hill Farm

Southborough

170 acres

Chestnut Hill Farm

One of the last working farms in the town of Southborough, Chestnut Hill Farm is a living tribute to the town’s rich agricultural past.

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Plan Your Visit
  • Overview
  • Ideas for Your Visit
  • Admission & Hours
  • Directions & Contact Info
  • What You'll Find
  • Venue Rental
  • Property Map
  • Regulations & Advisories

Overview

The scenic woodlands and rolling fields of Chestnut Hill Farm are true to its heritage as a working farm, saved from development in the 1960s through the dedication of a local family. Stone walls frame fields and pastures across 170 acres. Loop trails wind through upland forests and along the edges of freshwater wetlands. Meanwhile, designated bird reserves allow for safe nesting habitat for Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and other ground-nesting species beneath a wide-open sky.

We connect people to their local food systems through our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, providing a way to eat locally and experience a “taste” of farm life. You can support local farms and local food by joining our CSA at Chestnut Hill. Vegetable CSAs feature fresh, local, organic produce from June to October, and seasonal meat CSAs include 100% grass-fed beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork and chicken. Click here to see the current list of CSA options.

Ideas for Your Visit

Follow a gentle cart path from the parking area through fields of hay, alfalfa, and vegetables into woods dominated by oak, red maple, and white pine to the covered embankment of the Hultman Aqueduct, which provides a backup route for Boston’s water supply from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs.

The farm runs its popular, certified-organic CSA from early summer through late fall, and offers a wealth of programming and events with a focus on connecting families with nature, animals, and the working farm. Visit our events listing for current and upcoming events and programs.

Admission & Hours

FREE to all.

Open year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of 1 hour.

We welcome school and youth groups for experiential educational programs and field trips. Please visit our Education Page for details and to initiate a visit request.

Directions & Contact Info

Chestnut Hill Road
Southborough, MA 01772
Telephone: 508.785.0339
E-mail chestnuthillfarm@thetrustees.org

 

Get directions on Google Maps.

From I-495: Take Exit 59A (old exit 23A) for Route 9 East. Follow for approx. 2.3 mi., then take a right-hand ramp to bear North on Rt. 85 (Cordaville Rd.). Follow 1.2 mi., then turn left on Rt. 30 West (Main St.). Follow 1.2 mi., then turn right onto Chestnut Hill Rd. Follow signs to the parking areas on the right side of the road, past the long grey barn. The first parking area is for general visitors, the Farm Store, CSA pick-up, programs and events.  The second parking area is for visitors hiking or walking the trail system.

What You'll Find

Trails
Two miles of trails. Easy walking. Please remember that this is a working farm landscape. Please stay on marked trails and away from any equipment or livestock that you may see. Fences should be presumed to be electrified.

Farm Store
The Chestnut Hill Farm Store, located in the Beals Barn, is open to the public during the spring, summer, and fall.  Store hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12:00PM-6:00PM and Saturdays from 9:00AM-4:00PM.  The store features Trustees Grown produce, meat and eggs as well as local, organic food from the highest-quality producers.  Also available are locally produced pastas, sauces, honey, maple syrup, condiments, treats and more.  A curated selection of home goods and gifts includes items which are sustainable or made by women or BIPOC makers.

Venue Rental

For information on private events or renting the Deerfoot Barn, please contact us at chestnuthillfarm@thetrustees.org

Property Map

There is a trail map posted on a kiosk in the parking area.

We recommend that you take a photo of the map on your phone so you can refer to it during your visit, or download a trail map before you head out.

Regulations & Advisories

  • This is an active farm, so please stay on the trails. Trails may be closed periodically to conduct agricultural or forestry operations.
  • Please respect restricted-access areas, and do not open gates, touch or feed livestock, or interrupt farm operations.
  • Observe all posted signs. Please note that we maintain an electric deer fence around all of our cultivated fields — assume that the fence is on at all times.
  • Note that dog walking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and all-terrain vehicles are prohibited on the reservation.
  • Be aware that deer ticks may carry Lyme Disease.
  • Authorized seasonal bow hunting is allowed on this reservation with written permission for a limited number of hunters through a deer management program administered by The Trustees. Per MassWildlife regulations, hunting is permitted from the first Monday in October through December each year, from ½ hour before sunrise all day until ½ hour after sunset, Monday through Saturday. Hunting is not allowed on Sundays. Signage is posted at the property listing safety precautions and requirements. Learn more about hunting on Trustees properties. Any questions may be directed to The Trustees at info@thetrustees.org.
  • PHOTOGRAPHY: We ask that photographers or their clients become Contributing Level Members before conducting portrait sessions at this property. Click here for more information, and to request permission for any portrait sessions. The Trustees of Reservations reserves the right, and may give permission to its designated photographers and videographers, or to outside media, to photograph or video visitors and program participants at all its facilities and properties.

 

Before Setting Out
More to Explore

Trustees Grown

Shop Chestnut Hill’s Farm Store!

Buy Local
Upcoming Events

History

In 2006, Southborough voted to purchase a conservation restriction on the unprotected portions of Chestnut Hill Farm. Thanks to the vision and the generosity of the Beals family, The Trustees were able to care for and protect this community treasure in 2010 by expanding trails and managing the field and forest habitat.

In 2015, The Trustees began a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at Chestnut Hill Farm, accompanied by educational and recreational opportunities for visitors. In 2018, The Trustees acquired 39 acres across the street, reconnecting the farm’s original parcels and enabling The Trustees to connect the farm’s trail system with the Sudbury Reservoir Trails, the Boroughs Loop Trail, and the Bay Circuit Trail.

 

The View From Here
See What People Say

This has become one of my favorite hiking or snow shoeing spots, a beautiful meadow overlooking farmland with woodland trails to explore in several directions. Feels miles away!

leslea13, Trip Advisor

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