Amherst College Map & Tours

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Tours

1. Pond Loop Trail Tour

   One can find many seasonal or vernal pools throughout the College Sanctuary south of College Street and west of South East Street.

   Stops

   1. Conservation and Development

      The pond loop passes through a section of the Sanctuary that was used as a conservation and development project during the Great Depression. According to news reports from the 1930s, 20–40 students were employed clearing trees and replanting, jobs which allowed them to stay at the college in a time of unique financial hardship. A letter from Professor Alfred Goodale in 1946 notes “In the developmental stage of the Sanctuary, under the director of Mr. Walter C. Markert [Grounds Supervisor], undergraduates did the very valuable laborious grading of approximately four miles of paths and trails; construction of the dam for the pool in the Tuckerman Lot; the building of the long dam which impounds Tyler Pool. In addition, they cleared away much undesirable undershrub and planted the larger part of the introduced trees. This labor by the undergraduates was toilsome and valuable.”

       

      In 2020–2021 the student Outing Club began leading trail maintenance sessions under partnership with Conservation Works, reviving these traditions.

   2. Sanctuary Maintenance

      The primary maintenance of the Sanctuary is now accomplished by the amazing hard work of the Landscape and Grounds staff, headed by Kenny Lauzier. In 2020 they prepared the trails for Mammoth Day, a needed break for students during the COVD-19 pandemic.

   3. “Umbrella Tree” Magnolias

      A patch of “Umbrella tree” magnolias (Magnolia tripetala) can be found after re-entering the woods past the power-line clearing. These trees have large leaves up to 2 feet long that form whorl-like clusters at the stem tips, purportedly resembling the spokes of an umbrella. The natural range of this species is far to the South, suggesting that they were planted here by past generations of Sanctuary stewards. For more on this history, visit Historical Information on the Sanctuary.

   4. Connections

      The Pond Loop connects here with trails that lead to Rt. 9 and South East Street. Traveling to Rt. 9, you will cross boardwalks and a bridge over the Fearing Brook, which brings water from the Amherst town center to the Fort River. Efforts by the Town of Amherst and the Fort River Watershed Association seek to improve the ecological health of the stream and reconnect it to natural floodplains. Traveling to South East Street, you will go through a low-lying swampy area. This was part of the floor of Lake Hitchcock, a large glacial lake that formed when ice sheets retreated north from Amherst approximately 15,000 years ago. To learn more, visit “The Connecticut Valley 15,000 years ago” exhibit at the Beneski Museum of Natural History.

   5. Pond Life

      Turtles and frogs frequent this shallow pond in the wooded Amherst College Sanctuary. Sometimes the tracks of animals including muskrat and deer can be seen in the mud adjacent to this pond. As the loose sediments harden to become rock (in a process called lithification), the footprints can be preserved and become part of the fossil record. Visit the Hitchcock Ichnology Collection at the Beneski Museum to see a unique collection of tracks left by dinosaurs and other critters that roamed the Amherst area approximately 190 million years ago.

   6. BioBlitz

      Originally envisioned as a managed and natural arboretum, the Sanctuary continues to serve as a refuge for a diverse set of flora and fauna and a natural learning laboratory. Students in Amherst College classes have participated in a yearly BioBlitz documenting species and diversity in the Sanctuary, engaged in environmental science laboratories, and explored the value of wild spaces as part of their First-Year seminar courses. Several faculty also conduct original research in the sanctuary and mentor students working on their honors research projects.