Hikers will soon be able to directly access Antrim’s scenic Campbell Pond area, thanks to a recent $115,000 LCHIP grant which will enable the Antrim Conservation Commission to purchase a 112-acre property abutting the pond.

“We are ecstatic,” said Antrim Conservation Commission Chair Peter Beblowski. “This has been in the works for about a year, and the LCHIP grant will allow this project to become a reality.”

The parcel of land to be purchased by the Antrim Conservation Commission abuts the 17-acre pond between the southern spur of Riley Mountain and Pierce Lake Road in the northern part of Antrim. Campbell Pond was formerly used as a water supply for the Town of Antrim. 

According to Beblowski, the commission had long hoped to purchase the property, which became available in 2023. The land was forested by the previous owner, most recently in 2010.

“The purchase of this land will allow the town to provide formal access to  the Campbell Pond properties through Class 6 roads. Previously, the land was privately owned and the pond was ‘landlocked,’ and only accessible by a right of way,” Beblowski said. “There are a number of private trails that people use to get there, but now there will be formal public access.”

Beblowski said the Conservation Commission plans to complete a loop hiking trail around the pond. 

“The Campbell Pond properties are used by many people in that part of town for hiking, and there are trails on the Antrim town-owned portion of it. Last year,  the Student Conservation Association helped us start to build the trail all the way around the pond,” Beblowski said. “The new property will allow us to connect existing trails on town land to the Campbell Pond trails.”

The Keene-based Monadnock Conservancy holds the conservation easement on the town’s other Campbell Pond properties.

“They will be amending the easement to include this property. This now makes nearly 400 acres of conserved land in the northern end of Antrim,” Beblowski said. 

According to Beblowski, the Antrim Conservation Commission has received numerous grants toward the purchase of the property.

“The $115,000 LCHIP grant covers a little less than half the cost of the project and we have more than matched that amount to purchase it for the total budget, including closing costs and the survey,” Beblowski said. 

The Antrim Conservation Commission has received funds from Moose Plate Grants, from the NH Society for the Protection of NH Forests, through an endownment; and from the Waltham, MA  based Fields Pond Foundation. 

“We are just so grateful for LCHIP and Moose Plate and to everybody who has helped with the project. We’ve had a lot of help, and many, many thanks to everyone,” Beblowski said.