Environmental Conservation Students Help Prepare New Hilltown Boulders Trail

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Margaret Waggoner on her property, which now houses the Hilltown Boulders Trail. Credit: Hilltown Land Trust.

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UMass students on a previous Hilltown Land Trust volunteering opportunity. Credit: Hilltown Land Trust.

On November 23, Hilltown Land Trust and Ashfield Trails kicked off their first-ever hike along the new Hilltown Boulders Trail. The trail traverses the towns of Ashfield and Goshen, located northwest of Amherst. 

This scenic 2-mile loop, which gains 200 feet in elevation along its path, features striking views of massive 17-foot-tall boulders, remnants of glaciers that shaped the landscape over 12,000 years ago. The 160 acres of forest and wetlands where the trails are located were a gift from the late Smith College professor and "avid outdoor enthusiast," Margaret Waggoner. 

The Greenfield Recorder recently reported on the creation of and preparation for the trail, which involved the efforts of students from the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Environmental Conservation:

"Hilltown Land Trust has been working with Ashfield Trails and University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental conservation students to clean up the trails on Waggoner’s property and prepare them for public use."

— The Greenfield Recorder

Click here to learn more about the Hilltown Boulders Trail.