With this amazing stretch of sunny days we’ve been having, I wanted to get outside and do more Questing! This week, I went out to do the Trees of Hanover Quest. This Quest takes you around downtown Hanover and highlights the many species of trees on Dartmouth’s campus!
This Quest is also on our Super Quest that features the Top 25 Quests in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Vital Communities. Make sure to register, so that you and your team can get out and Quest. This Hanover Quest is a great way to ease into the challenge. You’ll only need to complete 5 total Quests in order to get a patch!
Your Quest starts on College St, facing the large white buildings that line the Green. Before Eleazar Wheelock founded the school, the Dartmouth green was once a forest of pine trees!
Farther on the green, you can find a large elm tree, one of few left. Many of the elm trees on campus died from Dutch Elm Disease, brought to the United States on logs from Europe. The first signs of the sickness make the leaves wilt, and then start to affect entire branches. The disease can spread slowly in older well established trees but can kill a tree in just a few weeks if the tree is young and fast growing. If you’re interested, read more!
After admiring the trees that line the entrance to Tuck Dr., the Quest takes you back through the green and past the stone chapel. Climbing up the hill and into College Park, you’ll have a good view of the observatory. The stone tower on the hill, Bartlett tower, was built to be as tall as the Lone Pine. Moving forward from the tower, you can even see the stump of the Lone Pine! As you continue up to the statue of Robert Frost, look around for your treasure and your Quest will be complete.
Whether its a walk in the woods, or a historical tour you seek, use our search tool to find your next Quest!