FALL RIVER — The city’s wilderness has become easier than ever to explore with the opening of a handicapped-accessible nature trail on Monday.
The Copicut Discovery Trail, on Indian Town Road near the intersection of Yellow Hill Road in Fall River’s vast forested eastern area, is a third of a mile long. Once an existing path known as the Shockley Trail, the path has been graded, flattened and laid with gravel so kids, the elderly and people with disabilities can more easily experience nature.
Along the way are benches and five stations with nature-play features for kids to explore.
“This project is special,” said Katie Theoharides, president and CEO of the Trustees of Reservations. “It is offering greater accessibility to populations here in this area to access a trail that is stroller-friendly, wheelchair-accessible, that you can walk on and know you’re still close to civilization.”
The Trustees, the nation’s first and the state’s largest land preservation and conservation nonprofit, owns Copicut Woods and is a partner in managing the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve, the 16,000-acre forest preserved in perpetuity.
Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said the trail “gives people another place to go with their children, to get them out and connect them with nature.”
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Nature trail meant to be accessible to everyone
The project of adapting the Shockley Trail to make it accessible has been going on since 2021. The Trustees paid for the project with a $50,000 state grant and an anonymous donation.
The Copicut Discovery Trail is very short by hiking trail standards, but leads visitors into the heart of the Trustees’ Copicut Woods property, which contains several other trails including stone-lined cart paths and Miller Lane, where the long-abandoned homestead of Isaac Miller is found.
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It’s not meant to supplant or violate the Bioreserve’s natural setting but offer a user-friendly way into it.
“People who normally can’t get outside easily, or who normally might choose a different activity, are able to get outside and access the outdoors and experience the joy and love you get from being in the woods,” said Theoharides.
“This kind of trail is more welcoming to folks that are not naturally outdoors folks," said Kristen Swanberg of the Trustees. “They feel a little more comfortable, versus if you put them in the deep wilderness.”
Trail balances greater access with impact on nature
The process involved taking an existing trail and putting a human stamp on it — a bit different than the hikers’ creed of “leaving no trace.” A press release from Fall River environmental group Green Futures received Sunday accused the Trustees of ruining the original trail, stating, "It is no longer a nature trail when much of the nature has been bulldozed away."
Theoharides insisted the Trustees ensured the impact on its surroundings was minimal. The materials used are natural, and swales were installed alongside the trail so work performed on it did not affect the surrounding forest.
Swanberg said construction was only ever performed in winter and ended before nesting season, to avoid affecting wildlife.
"That was done in very close coordination with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which manages the overall Bioreserve," Theoharides said.
Along the Discovery Trail are play stations for kids that blend into the natural landscape. Boulders and fallen logs are set up to capture the interest and attention of little ones, and are tagged with markings to teach them about local birds, salamanders and other native species.
The path, they said, is a way to balance preservation of the overall natural environment with ease of accessibility so more people can enjoy and appreciate it — especially kids.
“What’s going to happen when the next generation comes along?” said state Rep. Paul Schmid of Westport. “If they don’t know about the Bioreserve, if they haven’t come out here, they’re not going to love it the way we do.”
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How do you get to the new accessible nature trail?
The trail begins across Indian Town Road from the Trustees’ Copicut Woods parking lot.
Just getting there can be a challenge for some Fall River residents, who may not be sure where the Bioreserve is or how to drive there safely — GPS directions can sometimes suggest unpaved roads.
Coogan said he’ll look into using the city's new trolley to bring groups of visitors to the trail, so they can see it and learn how to get there themselves.
"I don’t think half the people in Fall River know this is all out here,” Coogan said. “But the more we open up these trails, the more we work with our partners, whether it be the Trustees or the Legislature, to expand opportunities for people to take a walk, enjoy outdoors adventures ... the city is going to be a better place to live and it’s going to be better for all of us.”
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