Check back soon for this year's walks!
Heritage Walks 2008
Celebrating our heritage through hiking & walking, biking, & canoeing.
Celebrating our heritage through hiking & walking, biking, & canoeing.
Explore the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area during the seventh annual Heritage Walks program scheduled for two fall weekends in 2008.
As in the past years, the 2008 program will feature short walks as well as longer hikes, walking tours of towns and historical buildings, nature and birding walks, tours of industrial site ruins, and, a canoe/kayak trip on the river. Historians, naturalists, and environmentalists will help participants explore
- the Housatonic River
- the history of the villages and towns in the region as expressed in archaeological and industrial sites, architecture, bridges, and monuments,
- both prominent and unsung geological, ornithological and horticultural resources, and
- splendid autumn foliage scenic vistas.
For more information, please contact: Alisa Clickenger, Walk Coordinator, (860) 435-9505.
The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area
For generations, the communities in the hilly terrain of western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut have been connected by their proximity to the meandering Housatonic River. These communities have a shared history of pioneering industries including iron, paper, and electrical generation, of welcoming writers and artists, and of commitment to the preservation of the scenic landscape. This shared regional heritage has recently been recognized by the federal government with the designation of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, one of only 37 in the country.
The Upper Housatonic Valley ranges from Kent, Connecticut, to Lanesborough, Massachusetts, and encompasses 964 square miles of the upper Housatonic River watershed. The area is bordered by the Berkshire Plateau to the east and the Taconic range to the west.
Housatonic Heritage is the local management entity that partnered with the National Park Service to help this area acquire the National Heritage Area designation. It will continue to support projects that allow visitors and residents to learn about and appreciate the underlying history and culture that make this region a very special place to live and visit.
Co-sponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information about Housatonic Heritage, its range of programs, and the official designation, please visit their website.