Easy Walks South of Boston features six different destinations to visit when you are in the town of Norton. On a beautiful day in autumn I stopped by four of these open space properties to get some pictures of fall color. It was also an opportunity to see what my collaborators, Marilyn and Dave Doré, had discovered during their fieldwork for the book.
On our travels from New England to Tennessee to see family we stopped for a day at the Guest River Gorge, a rail trail in Jefferson National Forest in Southwest Virginia. The Guest River rail trail is a great example of a true rail trail. That is, a former path built for a railroad line, now abandoned and transformed into a recreational space dedicated to walking and biking. The packed, crushed stone surface of the trail makes for very Easy Walking.
Remnants of one of the quarries found at the Bird St. conservation area
One of the first things I learned about the trails at Bird St. Park in Stoughton, MA was that the best parking is not on Bird St. It’s on West St. OK, got it. Now to get there and head out on the trail.
Returning to where we have been before says a lot about our enjoyment level. Some are, for me, one and done. But I look forward to returning to others, like Powers Farm, Randolph, MA, when the opportunity presents itself.
The Basin in Franconia, NH is a delightful outdoor destination with paved walkways alongside the Pemigewasset River. It was not always so. Others who visited in years past describe steep, eroded paths that made for treacherous footing. A tremendous amount of effort and financial investment has transformed this into a beautiful place for people of many abilities to enjoy.
On our trip to the area near Halifax, Nova Scotia, (NS) we planned to ride our adaptive tandem bicycle on the multiple rail trails that are available in that area. The Salt Marsh Trail and St. Margaret’s Bay Trail ended up providing us with plenty to see on our travels. The rigors of setting up our tandem and riding up to twenty+ miles per outing means we take a rest day between the times when we venture out on the rail trails.
Cliffs at The OvensStairs leading down to a sea cave
One of our “off” days took us to the Lunenburg, NS area. While looking at maps, we spotted a reference to The Ovens, in Riverport, near Lunenburg, which promised a cliff walk and sea caves.
The trail guide, Easy Walks South of Boston includes over fifty open space areas in seventeen contiguous towns south of Boston, thus the title. I recently visited several of these paths on a beautiful, blue-sky day in early fall. We saw touches of color but nothing like the show that awaits us in autumn in New England.
Over several months, Marilyn and Dave Doré, my collaborators, visited the 50+ destinations that now constitute this newest trail guide. I am endeavoring to visit many of these places in the coming month or so in preparation for upcoming Easy Walks presentations in various towns. The programs will be open to the public.
The Bay of Fundy is world famous for its tides. Up to 50 feet in some places. Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park has perhaps the most famous portion of the Bay’s spectacular shoreline to visit, but there are so many other locations where you can witness the tides in this unique area.
We have been working since this past spring on the newest trail guide, Easy Walks South of Boston. Now available in paperback or ebook. Marilyn and Dave Doré have collaborated with me to make this a great resource for folks looking for Easy Walks.
So….what’s an Easy Walk? Not too many roots or rocks, relativley level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way. That’s it.
If you live in these towns or want to visit, there’s an Easy Walk waiting for you: Avon, Abington, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, Dedham, Hanson, Holbrook, Norton, Norwood, Randolph, Rockland, Stoughton, Westwood, Whitman.
Our place for the week, King Neptune Campground, quite near the famed Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia, afforded multiple camping spots next to the ocean.
A shore dinnerPerched above the shoreline
We were able to spend time sitting next to the shoreline at our little piece of campground and watch the tide flow into and out of the small cove we were situated on.