Trail Hound

Walking Trail Guide gives armchair explorers tools for trails

It arrived the other day in my mailbox:  the glossy, full-color, 22-page Harwich Conservation Trust Walking Trail Guide, printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.  I love those folks at HCT.  They go beyond just preserving lands that protect woods, water, and wildlife, a noble mission to be sure; they actively welcome visitors to explore and discover their conservation destinations.  The guide is the icing on the cake of user-friendly conservation, including posting easy-to-find trailhead signs, hosting free guided walks, and providing downloadable maps and links to other trail and conservation resources on their Web site.

 The HCT guide includes maps and natural history information for eight town- or HCT-owned conservation areas, with trails ranging from a 137-foot wheelchair-accessible boardwalk overlooking the Herring River salt marsh to 2.75-mile trails at Bell's Neck, Island Pond and Hacker Wildlife Sanctuary, and Thompson's Field.  The free guide can be picked up at visitor centers, Town Hall, and libraries in Harwich, or ordered by contacting HCT.

 Geocaching highlights around HCT land:  Don't miss the 70^th Meridian at D. Isabel Smith Woodlands, a not-too-difficult cache along the trails overlooking the Monomoy River (a.k.a. Muddy Creek).  For more of a challenge, try the West Reservoir Ramble, an eight-stage multi-cache around the West Reservoir and Bell's Neck area trails.

 There are other excellent conservation and trail resources, besides commentary and geocaching perspective in Trail Hound of course, and most are available free of charge.  Cape Cod Land is a blog on conservation and open space preservation on the Cape and Islands, written by an outdoors aficionado named Paul.  Paul gets particularly high marks for his links to notable properties, an extensive network of local, state and national nonprofit organizations and private foundations, government entities, maps, and literary canon.

 Speaking of government entities, there may be no better place to enjoy your tax dollars at work than in town conservation areas or state or federal parks, and you can find guides to those places online.  Check your town Web site and you'll frequently (although not always) find a directory of conservation areas listed under natural resources.  The Town of Barnstable's Conservation Division has a noteworthy compilation of trail maps, guides and shooting range information under its "Town Maps" tab. 

 Even the entity that people love to hate, the Cape Cod Commission, has an exemplary layout of town-by-town walking trail guides on its Cape Cod Pathways page.  If your town Web site isn't up to date on trails, you can find them all here. Cape Cod Pathways sponsors an annual fall walking weekend to introduce you up close and personal to the trails, as well.

The armchair hiker has plenty of fodder for an afternoon walk with the kids and dogs or an early morning expedition to watch the sun rise over still water.  It makes one appreciate even more the unspoiled land that persists in spite of relentless development pressure.  I just might order one of those fetching Harwich Conservation Trust hats advertised in the Walking Trail Guide.  Civic-minded groups like HCT deserve all the support they can get to make sure there still is land for us all to enjoy.

Photos, from top:

D. Isabel Smith Woodlands trailhead sign at Monomoy River

West Reservoir, Harwich

Bank Street Bogs Nature Preserve, Harwich, with one of its 44 bluebird nesting boxes