Mount Grace Awarded MassTrails Grant to Improve Accessibility at Alderbrook and Eagle Reserve
Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust has been awarded a 2025 MassTrails Grant to enhance accessibility on two of its most-visited trails: the Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey S. Ames Accessible Nature Trail at Alderbrook Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Northfield and the David H. Small Community Trail at Eagle Reserve Conservation Area in Royalston.
In partnership with the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Mount Grace will use the grant to bring both trails into alignment with the Forest Service Trail Accessibility Guidelines—a nationally recognized standard that ensures natural-surface trails are safe and welcoming for all users, including people with mobility challenges, wheelchair users, seniors, and families with strollers.
“Together, the trails invite meaningful encounters with the forest and wetlands, offering visitors a chance to experience these landscapes up close,” said Alex Delucia, Director of Trails & Recreation Management at AMC.
Upgrades will include regrading steep sections, widening paths and bridges, resurfacing with firm gravel for stability, improving drainage, and expanding rest areas. These improvements will create consistent, durable, and inclusive trails while protecting the surrounding habitat.
Mount Grace will partner with the Appalachian Mountain Club’s professional trail crew, volunteers, and AMC’s Holyoke Teen Trail Crew to complete the work. The project is funded by a $97,100 MassTrails Grant, with additional matching support provided through volunteer hours and youth crew contributions. Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2026.