When plans were first drawn up for a trail system at the Curtis Farm Preserve, two loops were envisioned: one around the field and a second through the woods and along the shore. Trail construction – especially with an eye to habitat preservation – takes time, commitment and resources, not only to lay out the path, but to observe and maintain it over time. Foot traffic, seasonal conditions and change in an ecosystem over time all shape ongoing trail maintenance. If one section of the trail becomes too wet, it may have to be reinforced or rerouted. Storms can change the landscape, uproot trees and damage trail bridges.

For years, volunteers worked through the trail-building process at Curtis Farm, installing, maintaining, and partially rerouting the first implementation of the trail system. In 2023, construction of the final trail to complete the woods and shore loop began.

The terrain on this part of the loop isn’t steep, but it’s quite sloped in sections. The topsoil, mostly shallow, gives way to outcroppings of ridge lines that water follows in its descent from the upland area to Curtis Cove. This section of the trail is resplendent in its mossy, fern-laden shades of green, partly because it’s shady and wet for significant parts of the year. Constructing a trail here required thoughtful planning and lots of bog bridging, without which the wet conditions would lead to quick and damaging erosion.
Erosion is one of two good reasons to stay on the trail when hiking here. Every time hikers walk around puddles on the trail, the trail widens, topsoil thins, and more standing water accumulates. This is true on all trails, especially in spring or rainy seasons.

The second reason not to walk off-trail is poison ivy. When work began at the Curtis Cove end of the new trail, volunteers waited until after a killing frost had stripped the vines of their leaves before cutting the path. While poison ivy isn’t a problem throughout much of Curtis Farm, the section of the new trail closest to the cove bisects a thick patch of it. Bog bridges abound in this part of the trail. They help keep hikers out of wet conditions and away from rash-producing, oily leaves.

To construct these bridges, heavy 8–12-foot sections of split cedar logs have to be carried in and strung together, trimmed for trip hazards and spaced to encourage a hiker’s balanced stride. Each section of bridge requires two people to carry. Because the nearest parking area is more than a half mile away, volunteers instead brought the logs in by boat from Mitchell Field across Curtis Cove.

The new trail section was officially added to the Curtis Farm hiking maps last fall. It splits to the right from the intersection of the field loop and the original woodland trail, following a westerly path to the beach, along the line of an old stone wall and through sections of regenerating forest on what was once farmland.

On a section of the property that’s wet all year, a unique series of stepped bog bridges keep hikers from damaging fragile soils and the plant life that thrives there. Tom Carr, one of the Curtis Farm Preserve’s stewards, designed the stepped bridging based entirely on the conditions at this site. Walking the trail with him, he points out several wet spots where stepping stones may also help, especially in spring.

Once at the beach, the trail follows the waterline south for about 0.1 miles to a small bridge that marks the entrance to the woodland path and completes the loop. Hikers entering the trail system from the Basin Point Road parking area will connect with the original trail first, then walk the beach northerly to pick up the new trail section that leads to the field.

It helps to know the tides when hiking this loop. The highest tides – usually near the full and new moon – sometimes make traversing the beach impossible.
To help volunteers maintain these trails, HHLT’s Lands and Stewardship Director Emma Balazs reminds hikers to stay on the trail and to avoid hiking in the wettest of conditions, when going off-trail may be the only way through. Expect mud in spring and wear boots that you don’t mind getting dirty and wet.