Guided hike to the Mohican-Mohawk Trail’s hidden sandy beaches July 9, 2022
Guided Mohican-Mohawk Trail Hike – The Shelburne Open Space Committee, Arms Library, and Deerfield River Watershed Association have partnered to lead a scenic and educational hike to Shelburne’s hidden sandy beaches on the Deerfield River. A former Forester/Natural Resource Specialist will lead the hike through a long-abandoned tree nursery, along a forested ridge high above the Deerfield River, down many steps, and to the river through fields where we will discover small, sandy pocket beaches. These are among the very few sandy beaches to be found along the Deerfield River system and are prized by sunbathers and swimmers. If the group is up to it, we will hike further to a boat put-in and fishing area.
What to Bring: Hikers should wear good walking sneakers or hiking boots, long pants, plenty of water to drink, a snack, sunscreen, and tick repellant or treatment. (The best tick treatment is to pretreat your clothing with Permethrin.)
What to Know: There are two fairly steep slopes, uneven but smooth rocks to walk on along the river, a section of trail runs about 10 feet back from a cliff edge, and there are many wooden steps to go up and down on a steep slope. Hikers should have a medium level of skill and endurance for this 1 ½ mile round trip hike. The hike will most likely take about two hours.
Where to Meet: We will first gather on the steps of the Shelburne Falls Arms Library at 9:00 AM on Saturday, July 9th. From there we will all drive to the Mohican-Mohawk trailhead located on the Franklin Land Trust property, a roadside pull-out and trailhead adjacent to Route 2, between the State Patrol Barracks and Aubuchon Hardware.
If you pre-register by email, you will be notified in case of the need to reschedule: Jim at drwa@deerfieldriver.org
See you there!
On Saturday, July 9th, 2022, fourteen hikers enjoyed exploring the ruins of the old Franklin Forestry tree nursery and retail center on Franklin Land Trust property. We also had many informative discussions about the environment as we hiked the Mohican-Mohawk Trail to the sandy beaches along the Deerfield River.
