What Makes Chelmsford a Great Place to Live: Places to Walk

Welcome to Walt and Ali's Realty Zone, a weekly blog by Walt Fitzgerald and Alison Ludwig. Fitzgerald and Ludwig are local realtors with ERA Key Realty Services.

I love nature, children and animals, so it should be no surprise why walking in Chelmsford would appeal to me.  There are so many places in town where people can go to walk, jog, and ride bikes.  As a mother of four children, enough cannot be said about having safe, interesting places to bring children to outdoors.  We also own 4 dogs (Shadow, Spot, Angel Baby and Huckleberry) and being able to bring them out on walks that we all enjoy is paramount.  With those factors in mind, here are my top 3 places to go!

1.  Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. This is great because it is level and paved.  Bikes, strollers, rollerblades, wheelchairs and pedestrians can all move easily on this trail.  I keep noticing how the Rail Trail continues to open up, allowing access into many of the other open spaces in town.  There are now trails off of the bike path that lead to places like the Lt. Edward-Hope Bovey Woodlot, the Bartlett Woodlot, the Walter F. Lewis Community Garden and Red Wing Farm.  There is plenty of companionship on this well used trail, but nature abounds as well.  The other day I watched a beaver swimming down the aptly named Beaver Brook.

2.  The Cranberry Bogs.  What a great place to go for walks!  I like to park on Elm Street and walk in.  Many people enjoy walking their dogs there, but it seems to be the quietest early in the morning.  Huckleberry, the newest pup, is interested in the water, but not quite brave enough to get his feet wet!  He does like socializing with the other dogs that are out there and was very intrigued by the swan that was swimming there the other morning. A passer-by informed me that true bird enthusiasts do not like the swan as he is not native and a bit of a bully.  I do wish that I could have snapped the shot of it taking off-it was beautiful!   In terms of walking, much of these paths are fairly level but the whole trail is not completely flat.

3.  Rusell Mill Pond & Town Forest Reservation. This is the property behind the soccer fields on Mill Road.  As kids, we called it the Orchards- the story was that there were apple orchards in that spot at one time.  This is a town forest on Mill Pond with plenty of trails.  Mountain biking seems especially popular on some of these trails and we have run into plenty of people fishing as well.  These trails do take more effort- you could actually do some light "hiking" out there, so you want to make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes

Some of the other places we like to go to walk are the woodlots- one on Acton Road near the center of town and the other is on High Street between the bike trail and Robin Hill Road.  Another place with great trails is the George B.B. Wright Reservation on Park Road and of course, Thanksgiving Forest.

These types of places are important to people in helping them to decide where to live.  Chelmsford as a whole is becoming more of a walking-friendly town by the constant addition of sidewalks, which also makes nice, level places to walk alone, with your dogs, or your family!  If you do happen to be in the Center walking around, feel free to pop your head in and say "hi".  Our office is located next to Old Town Hall on the bike path.  We are dog friendly and often have a bowl of water out front for thirsty dogs during the summer.  If you have your four legged friend with you, we usually have a treat to share!

To download maps of the Rail Trail go to http://brucefreemanrailtrail.org/ and click on "Trail Map".  Trail maps of many of the trails in Chelmsford can be downloaded at http://thechelmsfordian.com/ and click on "Download Trail Maps."

Where do you like to walk?  Who do you bring with you when you go and what do you like best about the places where you walk?

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