Nashoba Brook

Click here for a map of Nashoba Brook and Acton.
Click here for a map of the surficial geology of Nashoba Brook.

Nashoba Brook is the largest tributary of the Assabet River and has a drainage area of over 48 square miles (this includes the area that drains into Fort Pond Brook, which joins Nashoba Brook shortly before the stream discharges into the Assabet). Nashoba Brook's headwaters are in Littleton, near the Littleton Common, but the stream soon flows into Westford, where it goes along the northeastern edge of the Nashoba Valley Ski Area.
The stream continues under Powers Road, behind a residential neighborhood, and through the Richard Emmet Conservation Land, which has walking trails that are accessible from Texas Road or Powers Road. There the brook is joined by Vine Brook and Nonset Brook before entering
Acton, where it is joined by Butter Brook. Then it continues under Route 27 and Carlisle Road.
Shortly after it passes under Carlisle Road, Nashoba Brook enters Robbins Mill Pond and then pours into the Nashoba Brook Conservation area, which is accessible from Wheeler Lane or Davis Road and features lovely walking trails.
Downstream in the conservation area are the remains of a pencil factory that was once powered by the brook. A small kiosk there presents information about the natural and human history of the area. The path that runs along the stream has a number of boardwalks and a bridge that make it easier to get close to the stream. At the far end of the conservation area Nashoba Brook flows under an old railway line that runs along its course almost all the way to the Assabet.
Nashoba Brook then runs behind Veterans Field before being joined by Conant Brook and Nagog Brook, which flows out of Nagog Pond. The stream passes under Great Road (Route 2A) and Brook Street and then parallels Great Road, running behind the businesses on its western side for a couple of miles.
A dam on the brook forms Ice House Pond, which is accessible from Concord Road. There are some pleasant but overgrown paths running through the woods by the lakeshore. Nashoba Brook flows under Route 2 just over the border into Concord.
It then joins Fort Pond Brook before entering Warners Pond, a popular place for canoeing and fishing in the summer and ice skating in the winter. The pond is accessible from Commonwealth Avenue. After leaving Warners Pond, the brook flows under Commonwealth Avenue, where there used to be a pail factory.
Finally the brook runs behind the Nashoba Brook Bakery in West Concord and under an another old railroad bridge before joining the Assabet.
There is a path that runs along the old railway tracks and provides access to the place where the brook joins the Assabet River. It's very pretty, but beware of poison ivy and mosquitoes!