Nickerson and Richardson

TLDR: Nickerson Walking Woods, Attleboro Land Trust. 1.5 miles of trails on 48 acres. Nice paths, very accessible, very clearly marked, not crowded. Dogs allowed. Very short, so it’s a good walk if you’re short on time or want to get your dog outside for a bit. I’d go back if I’m in the area and want a breath of fresh air, but it’s too short for a stand-alone trip.

Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, Attleboro Land Trust. 0.8 miles of trails in 63 acres. Very accessible, very clearly marked, not crowded but a few other walkers. Dogs allowed. This may be the shortest hike I’ve ever been on. I’d go back if I’m in the area but it’s too short for a stand-alone trip.

Nickerson Walking Woods

The title sounds like I was visiting a law firm today. Actually, I was I was visiting a good friend in Attleboro, hanging out in the town I grew up in. I had a few hours of daylight left after my visit, and a bunch of miles between me and home. Once again, I decided to rely on my Alltrails app and find the nearest trail. Turns out it was Nickerson Walking Woods trail. This was a really nice coincidence that took me back into family history again. Nickerson Walking Woods was donated to the Attleboro Land Trust by Martha Nickerson. She was a teacher in the Attleboro schools and also taught abroad on US military bases around the world. Her stories could fill many pages, and I’d encourage you to check out her photo legacy that is curated on Instagram. It is linked from the land trust page. She was a dear friend of my father’s because she had taught with my grandmother. I remember my dad talking about Martha when she was working on donating this land. It was a hassle. I can’t even imagine the legal hoops to jump through to sign over a property for conservation protection. He was clearly very proud to know her and talked about enjoying lunch with her often.

I parked at the entrance at 221 Richardson Avenue, Attleboro, Massachusetts. This is the only entrance to the preserve. There is parking for about 10 cars, and I was the only one there. The area probably doesn’t ever get very crowded, because today was beautiful: sunny and 45 degrees. There are two loops, the blue-outer walking loop is a mile and the red-inner walking loop is a half mile. These are very flat, well-maintained trails. They are a little muddy in places, but you can skirt the mud pretty easily. This is mostly a wetland area, with towering pine trees. It’s close to the road even at the furthest points in, but it was still very quiet and peaceful. There isn’t really a view or any other payoff, this is just a stroll in the woods. To complete the loop you have to go along Richardson Avenue, which is a pretty busy road. There is a sidewalk for this whole stretch, and it’s only about a tenth of a mile, so it’s not really a hardship. It’s really less distance than you have to walk along the road at Parson’s Reserve, which has no sidewalk, but I suppose if you’re an absolute purist, this might put you off a bit.

Deborah and Roger Richardson Preserve

This is another nice area with a mix of woods and wetlands, and there is a meadow that is one of the more prominent features. Because this is tucked into a residential area, it borders on several properties, and the sound of people enjoying their backyards on a beautiful Sunday was pretty prominent. The open meadow is probably a good place to sit and watch birds. Even though it’s close to the road for most of the property, road noise isn’t really an issue.

I headed home from there, and along the way saw a sign for Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve. If it hasn’t become clear yet, I’m pretty much obsessively stopping at every nature preserve that I come across now. I’m going to hit all of them eventually. I parked at the entrance at 577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro, Massachusetts. There is parking for 10-15 cars. This is the only entrance to this area, unless you count the paths that the neighbors use to access the area. Because of this I was sharing the area with several other people even though the parking lot was empty. Cell service was dicey so I couldn’t get my app to load. I had no idea how long this trail was, but figured it couldn’t be too long, because it’s in a residential area surrounded by houses. There was a nice interpretive sign, and clearly said that the Charlie Wyman Trail was 0.7 miles. Thanks to daylight savings time (I hate to utter those words), I had an extra hour of daylight to burn, so I figured the half hour or so would be well spent.

One thing that I noticed at this area is a pet peeve of mine, and if you have thoughts on this please type a note in the comments. There was a real prevalence of artistic objects that people sometimes leave in natural areas, and I pretty strongly believe that they should not. The old saying is “take only pictures, leave only footprints,” and it still applies. Crafty and artistic folks have taken to painting rocks with positive saying on them: “Inspire; Throw kindness around like glitter; Live your best life;” you get the idea. There is an entire subculture of rock-painters with their own Facebook groups, websites, Pinterest boards, you name it! I don’t have a problem with painting rocks. Really, I don’t. Express yourself however you’d like, it’s none of my business. I had a kind neighbor leave a few by my mailbox, and I thought it was awfully sweet. I have to draw the line at putting these objects in natural places though. It’s not any better than littering, or graffiti is probably a better analogy. I love a good interpretive sign, but let’s keep Live, Laugh, Love at home. There were also a bunch of birdhouses, which again, can be a wonderful way to try to give nature a leg up, but they were all really brightly painted and took a little away from the natural beauty.

All-in-all these were a good unplanned addition to an already awesome day. Don’t be afraid to carve out a few hours for adventures, or just take the long way home. Just make sure somebody knows where you’re going, just in case. Get out there!