... cultivating our connection
to the natural world.
Welcome to Distant Hill Gardens and Distant Hill Nature Trail
An Environmental and Horticultural Learning Center
"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life." Rachel Carson
Inspiring Visitors to Landscape with a Purpose
Distant Hill Gardens and Distant Hill Nature Trail encompass fifty-eight acres of forest, fields, and wetlands straddling the town-line separating Walpole and Alstead. You will find us in the hills, five miles east of downtown Walpole, New Hampshire.
Distant Hill is an environmental and horticultural learning center dedicated to inspiring and empowering children and adults to cultivate an intimate connection to the natural world through education and observation. We hope to inspire visitors to develop an ecological approach to working their land and to give them the tools to improve their landscape one plant at a time.
Or goal is to have visitors to Distant Hill leave with a better understanding of the vital connections between plants, animals, and humans, and how we can use
Earth’s resources in a way that strengthens and sustains those connections.
Distant Hill Nature Trail is Open Daily
Distant Hill Nature Trail is a mile-long network of wheelchair and stroller accessible gravel trails that
wind through the 21 acres of Distant Hill that is located in Alstead, NH. While Distant Hill Gardens is only open to the public on select weekends from May through October, for private tours,
visits by appointment, and for special events and educational workshops, Distant Hill Nature Trail is open daily,
year-round, from dawn to dusk. Learn More...
THE HIGHLIGHTS OF DISTANT HILL GARDENS
- Cultivated Gardens with over 400 varieties of Labeled Plants
-
Forests, fields & wetlands with a large variety of Native
Plants
- Vernal Pools, swamps, forest seeps, and other wetlands
- A boardwalk over a floating Cranberry Bog
- A large Stone Circle built with stones from the property
- Managed forests supporting over 30 species of Native Trees
- A three-acre ‘Milkweed Meadow’ for monarch butterflies
- An eight-acre sugarbush for producing our own Maple Syrup
- Dozens of Creative Sculptures throughout the gardens
- A small Christmas Tree plantation
- Alternative energy systems powering our Passive Solar Home
- Miles of walking trails including a mile long Accessible Trail
- Wildlife friendly forests
- Many unique geological features, such as large Pegmatite boulders and Stretched-pebble Meta-Conglomerate outcroppings
The cultivated gardens, all of the stonework including the stone circle, the many buildings, and the substantial trail system were designed, built and are maintained by Michael and Kathy (Kate) Nerrie. In addition, many of the whimsical metal sculptures found throughout the gardens were created by Michael.
If you have any questions or comments
please feel free to Contact Us.
