The State of our Trails

Nothing is better than a visit to one of Mount Grace’s conservation areas. Whether you are birding at Eagle Reserve or hiking through Arthur Iversen, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. One of our goals at Mount Grace is to ensure visitors have a positive and safe experience while visiting our properties.

An inventory of Mount Grace’s trails

Last fall, our TerraCorps member, Jessie Fagan, embarked on an inventory of trail-related infrastructure located on Mount Grace’s conservation areas. The goal of this project was to assess the condition of our trails and prioritize areas for improvements. Over the course of several weeks, Jessie hiked each of our maintained trails and mapped where infrastructure was located. This included structures such as bridges, kiosks, and interpretive signs. Along with logging their locations, Jessie also cataloged their condition and any repairs that needed to be made.

The results of Jessie’s inventory have greatly assisted Mount Grace in prioritizing areas for repairs. Overall, most of Mount Grace’s infrastructure is in good shape with 56% of structures being rated as good or excellent. One of the most surprising finds was a bridge that has been completely overtaken by beavers at Arthur Iversen. With the survey now completed, we have a better picture of where to conduct stewardship workdays. We plan to use this information to enhance visitor experiences on our trails.