Lyons-Cutler Reservation

Lyons-Cutler Reservation

Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776

Official Website
Lyons-Cutler Reservation brochure and map

About this Location

Much of Lyons-Cutler is wetlands, but there is also a large central upland area. This land was cleared and used as farmland until 1921 when it was sold and allowed to return to a forested state. Today, Sudbury Valley Trustees manages a three-mile trail system that is open to the public.

The Town of Sudbury and the Sudbury Water District own adjacent conservation lands and Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge lies just downstream. Altogether, this area has some 400 contiguous acres of protected land, most of them too wet for walking.

With streams and wetlands on every side, it can be a challenge to reach the upland at Lyons-Cutler, which only adds to the feeling of remoteness once you arrive. The upland area is roughly divided into a red maple forest on the east and a mixed oak forest on the west, with a large stand of white pine in the center of the northern portion. Old ditches, possibly used as property boundaries, border some edges of the reservation and run through the middle of the upland region. Many large trees, including red maple, white oak, and white pine, grow on either side of the interior ditch. The upland forest descends gently to a red maple swamp to the south and east, and a shrub swamp along the banks of Allowance and Hop Brooks on the north and west. The understory throughout the reservation is largely high bush blueberry and buckthorn, and cinnamon fern dominates large portions of the herbaceous layer. One of the highlights is the activity of a great blue heron nest colony located on the northern edge of the reservation, along the confluence of Hop Brook and Allowance Brook. Visit in May and June to see busy adults and gangly nestlings.

The most convenient access point is through the Town of Sudbury’s Landham Brook Marsh Conservation Land on Landham Road. Take Landham Road south from US-20 in Sudbury. A parking area will be on your right after .4 miles, just after passing Stagecoach Drive.

Notable Trails

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at Lyons-Cutler Reservation.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Official Website

Last updated January 3, 2024