OLD MILL TRAIL GREAT 1 OLD MILL TRAIL 5 MARY FLYNN TRAIL 9 FALLS VILLAGE HINSDALE/DALTON BARRINGTON RIVER WALK TOWN: Hinsdale/ Dalton, Massachusetts TOWN: Stockbridge, Massachusetts TOWN: Canaan, Connecticut LENGTH: 1.5 miles one way LENGTH: 1.2 miles one way. LENGTH: The trails that lead to the river are all connected to the Appalachian Trail (AT). ACCESS: The trailhead is on intersection of Route 8 and ACCESS: The trailhead is located at the end of Park Street, The whole section of the AT and the four side trails add up to about 0.5 miles. Old Dalton Road in Hinsdale. Currently, the trail ends in a off Route 7 in Stockbridge. ACCESS: The parking lot is located on Housatonic River Road just north of the round-about. OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The trail system is owned intersection with Sugar Hill Road. The Appalachian Trail is easily accessed from the OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The land, previously and managed by the Laurel Hill Association, the oldest parking lot. Crane & Company property, is owned by the Berkshire existing village improvement society in the United States. OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The Natural Resource Council (BNRC). The trail is jointly trail is managed by the Appalachian SPECIAL FEATURES: The trail follows the Old Berkshire WelcomeWelcome toto maintained by the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) and Steel Railway, which was operational from 1902 to 1930. Mountain Club Connecticut Chapter BNRC. There are still old trolley trestle abutments that can be seen Appalachian Trail Committee in thethe HousatonicHousatonic RiversideRiverside TrailsTrails andand SPECIAL FEATURES: Remains of old mill foundations on both sides of the Housatonic. After passing the bridge, cooperation with FirstLight Energy. and the penstock from the mill dam can still be seen. cross the railroad tracks and start up the boulder strewn SPECIAL FEATURES: This site ProtectedProtected AreasAreas fromfrom Hinsdale/Dalton,Hinsdale/Dalton, POSSIBLE TRAIL hillside. A quarter mile into the old woods is a fork: the once housed an active iron works that CONTACT INFORMATION Massachusetts to Kent, Connecticut EXTENSIONS Laura’s Tower Trail is on the left and the Ice Glen Trail on produced iron during the American Massachusetts to Kent, Connecticut Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) the right. Revolution and the Civil War. Today, Phone: (413) 394-9796 Connecting the trail to Nessacus remnants of the iron works are visible. Email: [email protected] The Ice Glen Trail is 1.2 miles one way. The trail is a — CLEAN WATER FOR LIFE! — Middle School ravine formed by glacial erosion. On the south end of the trail The dam and waterfall are great Berkshire Natural Resource Council (BNRC) and Wahconah “There’s no tonic like the Housatonic” . Oliver Wendell Holmes you will fi nd the tallest pine tree in Massachusetts. You will attractions for hikers. Both Falls Village Phone: (413) 499-0596 Regional High trails also offer easy access to the AT. School. also fi nd old growth forest, a rare sight in New England. Come explore the many trails along the Housatonic River . The Laura’s Tower Trail is 1.6 miles one way. At the CONTACT INFORMATION The Housatonic River begins its 150-mile journey to Long Island Sound at Muddy Pond in the towns of Hinsdale and ABOUT 50% end of the trail a metal tower provides an amazing view of OF THE TRAIL Appalachian Mountain Club Washington, Massachusetts The outfl ow of Muddy Pond creates the East Branch, which connects with the West and Southwest the Berkshires. On a clear day, you can see 68 miles west CONTACT INFORMATION Connecticut Chapter branches in Pittsfi eld and winds its way down through Connecticut to Long Island Sound. Along the way you’ll fi nd many to the New York Catskills, and 50 miles north to the Green Laurel Hill Association Appalachian Trail Committee trails to enjoy meandering along the river and through forested hillsides. As you explore the trails, enjoy the rippling sound of Mountains in southern Vermont. Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] the river, the songs of birds and the beauty of nature all around you. 6 THE HOUSATONIC FLATS 10 CORNWALL RIVERSIDE TRAIL Funding provided by: 2 FRED GARNER PARK Housatonic Heritage Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation TOWN: Great Barrington, Massachusetts TOWN: West Cornwall, Connecticut TOWN: Pittsfi eld, Massachusetts LENGTH: 0.8 mile loop LENGTH: 1.4 miles one way LENGTH: 0.2 miles ACCESS: The parking lot for the Housatonic ACCESS: The trail begins at the small parking lot at the south end of the Trinity ACCESS: The park is located off Pomeroy Avenue in Flats is located off of Route 7, half a mile north Conference Center on Lower River Road off Route 128 in West Cornwall. Housatonic Valley Association www.hvatoday.org Pittsfi eld near the Crofut Street intersection. of the Barrington Plaza shopping center. 150 Kent Road, P.O. Box 28 Cornwall Bridge, CT 06754 CT: 860-672-6678 MA: 413-394-9796 NY: 845-789-1381 OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The land is owned by the Trinity Conference Center OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The park is owned and OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The managed by the City of Pittsfi eld Open Space Program. Berkshire Natural Resource Council (BNRC). trail itself is groomed and managed by community volunteers. SPECIAL FEATURE: After the cleanup of PCBs in 2007, SPECIAL FEATURE: The entire property SPECIAL FEATURES: The trail traverses the old river road, a discontinued town road Fred Garner Park had a reopening ceremony and constructed is approximately 26 acres, with half a mile of that once connected West Cornwall and Cornwall Bridge. The trail is level and offers a About the Housatonic River . a short trail that follows along the river. The park also has a frontage along the Housatonic River. As part of scenic view of the woods along the Housatonic River. canoe launch site to the confl uence of the West and Southwest the Natural Resource Damages Fund, the BNRC The land of the 2,000-square-mile Housatonic River branches of the Housatonic River. was able to acquire the property and remove Watershed and its 150-mile river were historically used by the CONTACT INFORMATION more than fi ve tons of solid waste from the Native American tribe, the Mahicans, who fi shed and hunted City of Pittsfi eld Open Space Program wetland. here. Following European settlement, the river was also used Phone: (413) 499-9368 for water power at numerous paper and textile mills. CONTACT INFORMATION CARDINAL BY STEPHEN WOLFE BY CARDINAL The Berkshire Natural Resource Council Industrialization in the 20th century had major negative Phone: (413) 499-0596 impacts to the Housatonic as it did to many rivers. However, the Clean Water Act in the 1970s and the current efforts of many organizations and individuals are striving to bring our river back to high quality health. Riverside trails are a 7 HOUSATONIC RIVER WALK wonderful way to help make this happen and to appreciate the Housatonic. They also provide a community with a wonderful ecological, economic and quality-of-life benefi t. TOWN: Great Barrington, Massachusetts GOOCH LAURA ORIOLE BY BALTIMORE 3 BARKERVILLE CONSERVATION AREA LENGTH: 0.5 miles one way ACCESS: The river walk consists of two sections linked Welcome to the Housatonic River Watershed TOWN: Pittsfi eld, Massachusetts by Dresser Avenue and River Street. The upstream section 11 BULL’S BRIDGE CONNECTOR Many riverside communities have taken advantage of the LENGTH: Two undeveloped parcels totaling 74 extends from the river walk bulletin board at 195 Main Street presence of the Housatonic River by creating riverside acres of land with informal trails. to the William Stanley Overlook. The downstream section enters at River Street, the W.E.B. Du Bois River Park, and at TOWN: Kent, Connecticut trails for the public enjoyment. Many other communities are ACCESS: The entrance to the Barkerville Bridge Street. LENGTH: 0.2 miles one way designing or thinking about creating trails as well. This map Conservation Area is located on Barker Road, off of and narrative is a collection of the existing trails and related OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The trail, developed by ACCESS: Limited parking is available at the junction of Route 7 and route 20 in Pittsfi eld. The entrance itself is a gravel points of interest and where to get additional information. road with a gate owned by the Eversource power the Great Barrington Land Conservancy, was designed by Bull’s Bridge Road. Walk west down Bull’s Bridge Road and cross the Peter Jensen and landscaped by Monica Fadding and Heather covered bridge, continue and cross another road bridge: the blue blazed company. This gravel road is the shared access point This brochure is your resource, and a planning tool to create Cupo. Bull’s Bridge Connector will be on your left. for the electric substation and the conservation area. new riverside trailways, and bring trail managers together Near the gravel access road is a small parking area. SPECIAL FEATURE: River Walk serves as an educational OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: The trail is managed by the to celebrate their trails along the Housatonic River. In the SEE NOTATION IN BOX AT BOTTOM RIGHT. laboratory to students and adults. Substantial efforts are made Appalachian Mountain Club Connecticut Chapter Appalachian Trail future we may see a vibrant Housatonic Riverside Trail OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT: to improve the quality of the river and habitat by eradicating Committee. Coalition of active trail organizations and communities along The park is owned and managed by the city of invasive plant species, reclaiming the riverbank with native SPECIAL FEATURES: The the Housatonic River. The coalition could provide a system of plant species propagated from local seeds, and stabilizing Pittsfi eld Open Space Program.