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The Conservation Department maintains, with considerable help from volunteer trail adopters, summer AmeriCorps
crews, Department of Environmental Management grants, and others, more than 80 miles of trails
for hiking, cross-country skiing, and in some cases horseback riding and mountain biking.
The trail system extends into many adjacent towns and includes the 42-mile Robert Frost Trail,
the 6-mile KC Trail, and many shorter paths.
New!
Amherst Literary Trail Guide
(PDF - 781KB)
Robert Frost Trail Guide (PDF -
4MB)
Trail Map - Spring 2007 (PDF -
2MB)
The Department is also in the process of establishing a Literary Trail System by
naming some two dozen trails in the system for authors and poets with past or
present Amherst-area connections.
The Houston-Gage Trail on the 252-acre Houston and Gage complex off
Sand Hill Road in Shutesbury, a 1.7-mile loop above Dean Brook beginning
on Sand Hill Road 2.0 miles uphill from the intersection with Pratt Corner Road.
The Walt Whitman Trail, a 1-mile path from
Flat Hills Road east across the King’s Reserve Conservation Area to the Robert
Frost Trail south of Atkins Reservoir.
The Department is also working to improve the Kevin Flood Trail along Cushman
Brook upstream of Puffer’s Pond and the Larch Hill Trail at the Hitchcock
Center for better accessibility for wheelchairs and for people with visual
impairments. Other universally accessible trails are in the planning stage.
CURRENT
TRAIL CONDITIONS
All trails are open year-round. However, we
are experiencing flooding in some areas resulting from beaver dams and an
unusually high water table, so hikers should wear high, waterproof boots or
expect detours or closures in some areas. The following advisories are
up-to-date as of December 2003:
Podick Trail
(entrance at Route 116 south of Sunderland town line) - much of the southern
part of the main trail loop still recovering from beaver flooding that
occurred in 2003. Trail is muddy and unstable please use caution.
Trail work is scheduled
for the summer of 2006 to fix the section of trail between the eastern and
western fields.
KC Trail-
Summer of 2006 will see the K.C. trail extended through the Wentworth Farm
Conservation Area to the parking lot on Old Farm Road. This summer will also
see the addition of new signs and trail markings. Currently beaver flooding
has rendered the section between Potwine Lane and Pomeroy Lane impassible.
Work is scheduled in the summer of 2006 to rehabilitate the trail north of
Pomeroy Lane. A reroute is also scheduled in the Plum Springs Conservation
Area. The section between Hop Brook Drive and the Rail Trail is very dynamic
and users of this section need to use caution. During the spring and early
summer please leash your dog and walk your bicycle. Do to beaver activity
the water is very close to the trail bringing wildlife onto the trail. Also
there is an unmarked railroad crossing, please stop, look and listen.
Robert Frost Trail:
During the spring and summer the Lawrence Swamp section is extremely wet. In
the summer of 2005 some work was done to repair bridges, this will continue
in 2006. During the spring melt and when it rains sections of trail from
Amethyst Brook to Pratts Corner Road
suffer from drainage issues. Solutions will be explored this summer. Stream
crossing issues will be addressed, in the summer and fall of 2006, on
sections north of Amherst. Various areas of trail will receive new signage
and paint blazes in 2006.
Upper Fort River:
Shifting
channels of the Fort River and Hop Brook have created many challenges here.
The first of the two bridges from Southeast Street fell into the river and
had to be removed. Water level changes have eroded the bank protecting the
bog bridging across from the National Guard Bridge. The trail here is in
jeopardy and the bridging is unstable. Use caution.
Arnold Kenseth Trail:
This trail was
built under the guidance of Gabe Hart and Aaron Clayton as part of their
requirements for an Eagle Scout badge. Although the trail was completed in
2005, flooding has delayed the opening of the trail.
Puffer’s Pond
– Many of the trees at the pond are now wrapped with wire to prevent further
beaver damage. Wrapping of the trees has been an ongoing cooperative project
that has involved volunteers from U-mass, Amherst High School and the staff
of the Conservation Department.
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