Just for Fun!

Herb Hadfield and Dunham's Brook Conservation Areas

Photos and story by Shoshona Brown

At this moment of the year the landscape is brightened by the jubilation of new-sprung grass.

Each season has its virtues for a hiker. Of course summer and fall need no champions — and winter...well, as long as there is snow, who doesn’t love a winter wonderland?

But spring — especially early spring before all the trees have unfurled their new green leaves — this is a special, fleeting moment in our year that can best be appreciated by getting out in the middle of it.

At this moment of the year the landscape is brightened by the jubilation of new-sprung grass, the delicate yellow-green of willows, and (my favorite) the reddish-pink “fuzz” that can be found in the forest canopy — the reddish buds and small blossoms of the red- and sugar- maple trees that are so common in our area. Since the leaves have not yet come out, you can still see the “bones” of the trees — and peer far into the forest.

But because of these new buds, contrasted with those of other varieties of trees, you become more aware of how many “layers” make up a forest, the small branches with their buds crisscrossing one another like fine lace-work, or like an intricate papercut, only with infinite depth.

Happily, we are blessed in our area with such a wealth of forests and nature preserves where one can hit the trail with very little bother: they are all so close, offering short to moderate-length, satisfying hikes that even the beginning hiker can handle, and so many of them happen to be well maintained.

 

My hat is off to the Westport Land Conservation Trust both for the excellent maintenance of trails on their properties, and for the wide diversity of sites which they maintain (currently ten which are open to the public for hiking, but they are always in the process of expanding!).

While in some regions early spring is dubbed “mud season,” and hikes are only for those who don’t mind don’t mind mucking up their boots, the WLCT properties are full of raised boardwalks that lift the hiker out of the spring mud, and their arboreal wetlands are graced by small bridges that allow you to cross their abundant waters without getting your feet wet.

About two weeks ago I visited two WLCT properties — Dunham’s Brook Conservation Area and the Herb Hadfield Conservation (both new to me) — that are only about a mile and a half apart. Dunham’s Brook, according to the WLCT trail guide, offers just 1.1 miles of trails (though it seemed like more to me); and Herb Hadfield has 2.5 miles (but again, if you try to see them all there is some retracing of trails, so it comes out to a little more).

Still, if you are not satisfied by a hike under five miles, you can visit them both back to back (and even walk along the roads that connect them), and make it a day of it.

Both of these preserves also share the fortune of being just a mile or so away from Westport Point and very near to Horseneck Beach, so you can also combine this outing with a stroll through the picturesque and historic Westport Point village, and/or a walk on the beach.

The trailhead and parking lot for Dunham’s Brook can be reached just between the addresses of 1470 and 1492 of Westport’s Main Road. You can download a trail map from the WLCT website, or pick one up at the kiosk at the trailhead.

 

The preserve offers two different trail loops that are easily combined into one hike that should not take longer than an hour. There is a small hill on one of the loops, but one easily taken (much less formidable than a stroll up many of our streets in the north end of Fall River!).

Two of the special features of this hike have to do with the fact that the property was once part of a working farm. One of the trails brings you right smack through the middle of a cornfield, and to the side of one of the trails leading to the field you can view the remnants of an old stone corn silo. The WLCT still grows corn on this field every summer. Of course when I was there, it was still too early — the corn had not yet sprouted; but I look forward to returning in late summer and walking between the rows!

 

Instead, after savoring the subtlety of the branch-and-vine filtered light streaming through the forest on the first part of the trail, I experienced a rush of expansiveness when the trail brought me out into this open field where I could rejoice in the view of a perfect spring sky with fluffy clouds, and the red “fuzzy” forest canopy in the distance at the field’s opposite end.

The Herb Hadfield Conservation Area has two entry-points, each with its own parking lot. One is on Adamsville Road, but the one closest to Dunham’s Brook is the entry on Cornell Road (just one mile from the intersection with Main Road) — you can see the sign for the property from the road. This is where I began my walk.

 

This preserve has about three miles of trails if you combine all the possible combinations of routes. Its most entrancing feature is the beautiful Angeline Brook wending its way throughout the preserve, which holds several small bridges for crossing and enjoying it from many angles. One of this property’s “coming attractions” is a “grassland meadow restoration,” which although at present looks like construction site with new “bluebird condos” just put up, nevertheless is already being populated by bluebirds. (I saw several there, but alas could not manage to get one to pose for my camera!)

 

Bluebirds, blue skies, red buds, new grass, and sparkling waters...early to mid-spring is a special time to wrap yourself in the tapestry of forest, field and meadow. So be sure to get out and enjoy the buds, the birds, and the bees, and let yourself be rejuvenated together with Mother Nature!

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