River Walk has closed for the winter. Stay tuned for the spring trail opening announcement.

As our 2025 season comes to a close the Great Barrington Land Conservancy’s Housatonic River Walk would like to thank the volunteers, contributors, and Greenagers who made this year possible!

For a full report of this year’s activities, see the Highlights here and Accomplishments here.

We are working to protect the historic northern red oak adjacent to the downstream section of River Walk on Bridge Street. Northern red oak trees provide food and shelter to a myriad of creatures and have been documented to host over 1,000 different species.

To protect this keystone northern red oak, we need to protect its root system from compaction and its trunk from damage. Currently the wire fencing around the trunk protects this valuable tree from beavers. In the next few months you will notice a new fence made from repurposed fence rails and bittersweet vines to protect the root zone from compaction by both vehicle and foot traffic. Please read the entire blog post here.

This spring River Walk engaged an industrious and knowledgeable crew of Greenagers to help with a number of early spring projects.

Our work included protecting selected trees from river beavers, moving butternut logs from behind our storage shed to be picked up by local wood guild members, and removing a large root ball of a tree that was taken down by beavers which allowed us to plant two new trees on Arbor Day. Our long-term horticulturalist Heather Cupo guided our work and included educational lessons as we moved along the trail. Our Plant Euphoria Horticultural Team finished off the day with a spring spruce up of the River Garden.

It was great to learn together and get so much early work done! See the work day photo gallery here.

Come enjoy the trail! The river is running high and spring is just beginning to emerge. Be on the lookout for emerging spring ephemerals.

You will find the trail well maintained by our Greenagers staff. We are delighted to welcome you again to enjoy the beauty of the Housatonic River.

In 2024 River Walk and its riverside neighbors experienced an unprecedented impact from beavers. On your next visit to River Walk you will notice the use of wire fencing surrounding some of our significant tree species, such as the historic oak on Bridge Street.

Luka, our River Walk Intern, helped us to understand the importance of beavers to our native ecosystems. “It was my first time in my life seeing a sign of beavers… so I have decided to write a little blog about those fascinating creatures!”

Please read the entire blog post here.

Visit River Walk and explore a variety of riparian tree species!

Monday, April 14  – Friday, May 2, 2025.

Visitors will find a temporary self-guided tree walk in our upstream section and arboretum tree signs to help you identify the trees in our downstream section.

On Arbor Day, Friday, April 25th, the River Walk Team will be planting an eastern hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) to replace a tree that was harvested by beavers this winter.

Spring, Summer, or Fall, Housatonic River Walk is always there for you!