A more than 1,000-acre property in eastern Massachusetts that is popular for its hiking and mountain biking trails is now permanently protected.
Officials with The Trustees of Reservations recently announced they have secured two new conservation restrictions on 1,109 acres of land owned by Hale Education. The property straddles the border of Dover and Westwood, Massachusetts, two suburbs just outside of Boston.
The property is open to the public and is home to more than 20 miles of varied, rugged trails that are open to mountain biking. The property is also a popular area for hiking and trail running, as well as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter.
Officials with The Trustees said the partnership with Hale Education, a non-profit organization that works to connect people from all walks of life with the outdoors, was years in the making. They said the agreement protects one of the largest tracts of privately-owned, contiguous open space in the Boston metro area.
One of the two restrictions, covering 973 acres of Hale Education’s land, is the largest single conservation restriction The Trustees have acquired since 1972. Together, the two restrictions connect to two other Trustees properties—Powisset Farm and Noanet Woodlands—forming a 2,172-acre block of contiguous protected land across Westwood and Dover.
