Imagine hiking through cool, dark forests, by babbling brooks, silvery streams, and along a mighty river. Imagine hiking up to the tallest point in Essex County. Now imagine doing all this and never leaving Andover. You can this weekend.
On Sunday, June 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., the Andover Trails Committee will kick off its annual Bay Circuit Trail Hike series. This is the third consecutive year the Andover Trails Committee will lead this four-part hike series that, over the course of four months, covers Andover's entire 18-mile stretch of the Bay Circuit Trail.
The Bay Circuit Trail, first proposed in 1929 as an outer "emerald necklace," links parks, open spaces and waterways from Plum Island in the north to Kingston Bay in the south. The Bay Circuit idea - a precursor of today's national greenways movement - continues to take shape and is a work in progress even today. Focused on a 200-mile corridor of 50 cities and towns, the Bay Circuit Trail connects the "jewels" of the "emerald necklace."
For the first hike on Sunday, June 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., rain or shine, hikers are asked to meet at the Ward Reservation parking lot on Prospect Street, off Route 125. Shuttles will take hikers to the beginning of the hike on Salem Street, near the lunch pavilion in Harold Parker State Forest, and then people will hike back to their cars at the Ward Reservation.
The June 28 hike will be followed by hikes on July 26, Aug. 23 and Sept. 27. Participants who join all four hikes, thus completing the entire 18-mile stretch, will earn a certificate from the Andover Trails Committee. However, each leg is in itself a terrific hike and none of the hikes are dependent on having completed a prior section.
Each leg will consist of approximately 4.5 miles and be led by experienced hikers.
For more information, call David Bunting, chairman of the Andover Trails Committee, at 617-365-2820 or Jeff LaFountain, Hiking Series coordinator for the Andover Trails Committee, at 978-470-2980 or visit www.andovertrails.org
About the Andover Trails Committee:
The Andover Trails Committee is a citizens committee including members of the Conservation Commission, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Andover Village Improvement Society, the Bay Circuit Alliance, The Trustees of Reservations, and other people who appreciate the outdoor recreational opportunities of Andover. It was reactivated in the spring of 1991 to focus on the establishment of the Bay Circuit Trail in Andover.
The committee continues to support Bay Circuit Alliance projects. It is also working on the Shawsheen River Greenway initiative. The Andover Trails Committee will continue its work to increase the public's access to recreational trails by publicizing trail events, seeking volunteers to work on trails, raising funds for trail improvements, and working with regional groups to create trail networks.
