On Sunday, the Berkshire Natural Resources Council will hold a grand opening for its newest trail — as well as the rollout of new materials about accessibility at its properties around the county. A guided hike, games, and more are planned for the unveiling of Whale Rock Trail, on the grounds of the Thomas & Palmer Brook conservation reserve in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The new “Berkshire County Trails for All” and “Everybody Can Hike” materials, bilingual guides to accessibility and safety for the BNRC’s holdings, will also be released at the event. WAMC spoke with Community Conservation Manager Mariah Fogg.
FOGG: The Whale Rock Trail is found at the Thomas & Palmer Brook reserve located in Great Barrington, right across from the Koi restaurant on Route 23. The trail itself is about one mile of newly constructed trail all the way up to Whale Rock, which is a very unique rock feature, and the entire trail is about 2.5 miles round trip from the actual trail head.
WAMC: Now, for those who aren't familiar with this part of Berkshire County, tell us a little bit about the environs. This is in, of course, Great Barrington- What should folks from maybe outside of the immediate area know about this parcel of real estate in the Berkshires?
Thomas and Palmer is very unique. It's 267 acres of land that slopes upward from a brook through an old pasture. There's a wetland and mature forest, and the existing meadow loop has an accessible trail there that really gets you views of a very expansive wetland. And then the new trail, the Whale Rock Trail, brings you through the woodland up to this high point of exposed bedrock. So, you kind of get all the special features that we have around here of the lowland valley, the wetlands, a little bit of a stream, and then some climbing up to a nice, not quite a vista, but a really cool- A feature, I guess, a point to just turn around and enjoy the bedrock.
So why this new trail? What about this area of the Berkshires made it stand out for a new BNRC investment?
This trail was something that had been prioritized at the Thomas & Palmer Brook reserve when BNRC really took a step in establishing a trail system there. This trail was very special because it was supported by Greenagers, the Student Conservation Association, and also volunteers. We had had kind of an informal woods road trail that could get you close to Whale Rock for a long time, and while there wasn't exactly signage inviting folks up there, people were walking and really looking for expanded opportunities at Thomas & Palmer. So that was a primary feature of just expanding access at this particular reserve, and I think folks are really enjoying it so far.
This weekend, the BNRC is also rolling out two new print and digital resources: “Berkshire County Trails For All” and “Everybody Can Hike.” Walk us through that- What are these new resources? What are they offering folks in the county?
I'll start with “Berkshire County trails For All.” This is a new guide to accessible trails which was developed by BNRC, in partnership with Berkshire Family Hikes, Mass DCR, Unpaved Trails For All, the Great Barrington Land Conservancy, Laurel Hill Association, Berkshire Language Management, and Mass Audubon. This came into being because we really heard the need to better understand where trails that are built for barrier-free wheelchair, stroller, and mobility aid access are located and really sharing the details about the experience so folks can make that decision for themselves of, is this a good fit for me?
And let's turn now to “Everybody Can Hike.” What's the story there?
“Everybody Can Hike” is a new resource that is very user friendly to really help bridge the gap for those who are new to the area and better understand what to bring, what to expect, and how to stay safe on the trails. This guide came into existence after conversations with a working group of partners, including Latinas413, Berkshire Immigrant Center, and Berkshire Language Management, who all kindly provided their guidance, support, and constructive feedback as we refined and implemented these efforts. And we are continuing to look to this working group for that level of guidance.
