Much of the southern section is in use for agriculture, but the public may use the edges of these fields. This land was split off in 1997 and purchased by the Town with Self-Help funds. The woods feature several trails and can be used for hiking or cross-country skiing. The Wheeler Road access was purchased by the Sudbury Valley Trust with assistance from the Stow Conservation Trust. Spindle Hill is so named because the hill was covered with Dogwood trees when the local mills were in their prime.
Dogwood is a hard wood that was used for making spindles for the mills.
The accompanying map shows the agricultural and forest lands in Stow. Yellow parcels are woodlands and green parcels are agricultural. Chapter 61 and 61A allow the farmer to obtain a tax abatement on land used for agricultural or forestry purposes. This is necessary in order to make agricultural operations sufficiently close to being profitable to encourage them to continue. The Assessors may require proof of continuation of the existing use.