MEETING TIME AND PLACE: 10:00 a.m. Monday,September 25, 2023. Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, Northampton, Mass. We will meet at the Cooke Avenue entrance where Boggy Meadow Road starts by the parking lot. For a GPS address, please use 164 Cooke Avenue.
Please note there are no restroom facilities at the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Cooke Avenue is reached from Hatfield Street between Bridge Road and North King Street (Routes 5 and 10) in Northampton. From Bridge Road make the first left hand turn from Hatfield Street onto Cooke Avenue and proceed about 0.2 miles to its end where there is a gravel parking lot (former location of the Moose Lodge, which has been razed). For a GPS address, please use 164 Cooke Avenue.
DESCRIPTION OF WALK: The group will be walking on Boggy Meadow Road to the dam at Fitzgerald Lake and return, a distance of about 2.2 miles. On the way to the dam, we will pass a large beaver pond. At the dam there are pleasant views of the Lake. It is possible to lengthen the walk by about ½ to 1 mile by taking side trails. We might be able to see some birds by the dam, so you may wish to bring binoculars. There is a kiosk on the right hand side of the parking lot that has maps of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, or you can find a map online at this link;
https://www.broadbrookcoalition.org/files/Fitzgerald_Lake.pdf
TRAIL CONDITIONS: The pace will be moderate, taking about 30 minutes to walk one mile. Please wear stout hiking boots, bring a rain jacket, hiking staffs if you use them, insect repellant, and water and snacks. Please note there are no restroom facilities at the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
COORDINATOR: Barbara Smith; (Cell phone) 413-575-4903; email: smithbooksandpaper@gmail.com
CANCELLATION POLICY: If the walk has to be canceled for rain or otherwise, we will email a notice the night before or the morning of the walk.