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Reported by us | Westport

Westport's new Snell Creek Conservation Area opens a 1.5-mile loop trail at 585 Main Road

The loop crosses the creek on a new 40-foot raised bridge and ends in a meadow around a farm field, where volunteers planted 800 berry plants and 12 pear trees for the Westport Food Pantry. Guided walks follow on Nov. 25 and Nov. 30.

By the SC360 Community Desk | Published Nov. 12, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 12, 2026, 2:58 p.m. ET

WESTPORT Walkers can now follow a 1.5-mile loop trail over Snell Creek, open dawn to dusk every day at 585 Main Road in Westport, on the Westport Land Conservation Trust's newest public property.

The Land Trust set the public opening of the 64-acre Snell Creek Conservation Area for Saturday, Nov. 7, with remarks, refreshments and walking tours of the berry patch, according to its Oct. 27 announcement. Charlotte Greeson, its development and communications coordinator, wrote to South Coast 360 on Thursday that the new conservation area "was hopping yesterday, when so many people had the day off" for Veterans Day.

It is the Land Trust's 12th property open to the public, according to the announcement, and it protects more than 2,500 feet of Snell Creek tributaries and the trees around them. The Land Trust calls the creek an important cold-water resource that flows into the East Branch of the Westport River.

What the walk is like

The loop crosses the creek and runs through wet woodlands, glacial till and a stand of oak and holly before it ends in a meadow around a one-acre farm field, the Land Trust's announcement says. The Land Trust's Trail Team carpentry crew built a 40-foot raised bridge on granite blocks over the tributary that gives the property its name. The Land Trust wrote in September that the bridge is designed to protect fragile wetland habitat and to keep visitors out of the high water.

The Land Trust's listings for guided walks on the loop describe it as about 1.5 miles with minimal incline, on ground that can be wet with some exposed roots, and they suggest sturdy closed-toed shoes, clothes for the weather, water and binoculars.

Parking, hours and rules

Those listings tell walkers to park at the Snell Creek parking lot. The trails are open from dawn to dusk daily, and the Land Trust asks visitors to follow the rules posted at each of its properties. Its guided walks there allow no pets, and the bird walks take up to 15 people. Trail problems can be reported through a form on the Land Trust's contact page.

Berries for the food pantry

This spring, Trail Team volunteers planted 800 raspberry, blackberry and blueberry plants and 12 pear trees on the farm field, and the Land Trust reported in September that the plants were thriving despite early summer heat and long dry spells. The varieties include Heritage and Anne raspberries, Natchez and Prime Ark Freedom blackberries and Jersey and Patriot blueberries.

Westport Food Pantry volunteers will harvest the fruit and hand it out in the community starting in 2027, with berries expected from June to the first frost, the Land Trust says, and anyone who wants to help pick can contact the food pantry.

How the land was saved

The Land Trust bought 34 acres off Main Road from landowners Jay and Jill Szaro in December 2025, and a partnership with the Buzzards Bay Coalition on the neighboring parcel made the larger property open to the public. "Working with the Westport Land Conservation Trust to preserve this property was the right thing to do for our family and the community," Jay Szaro said in the Land Trust's December post on the purchase.

The Bafflin Foundation, the Fields Pond Foundation, the Thomas A. Rodgers Jr. Family Foundation, the Massachusetts Waterfowlers Association, two anonymous grantors, local donors and a Conservation Partnership Grant from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs paid for the project, the Land Trust says.

The Coalition wrote in February that Westport has six of the nine cold-water streams on the South Coast and Cape Cod where brook trout breed, and that it has protected more than 400 acres along Westport tributaries, Snell Creek among them. The Land Trust says it has helped preserve 5,600 acres across Westport, almost 3,000 of them working farmland, and it keeps more than 20 miles of public trails.

Walks coming up

The Land Trust's every-other-week bird walk returns to Snell Creek at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, and a social hike for adults starts there at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, ending with a hot drink and time to talk. Both ask people to register on the Land Trust's website, and its offices at 573 Adamsville Road take calls at 508-636-9228 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

The Land Trust is also working to preserve Peaceful Acres on Drift Road, where Executive Director Ross Moran wrote to South Coast 360 on Thursday that the Land Trust is tentatively scheduled to close on the land in early December and will open its trails to the public later in 2027.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from the Westport Land Conservation Trust's own website (its Oct. 27 opening announcement, its Dec. 22, 2025, post on the purchase, its Sept. 27 and Oct. 23 posts on the bridge and the berry field, its program pages for the Nov. 25 and Nov. 30 walks, and its Our Properties, About and Contact pages), two emails the Land Trust sent South Coast 360 on Thursday, Nov. 12, and the Buzzards Bay Coalition's Feb. 8 post. We read them on Thursday, Nov. 12. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar: Nov. 7, 2026, is a Saturday, Nov. 11 a Wednesday, Nov. 25 a Wednesday and Nov. 30 a Monday. No one paid to be included, and we are asking the Land Trust whether dogs are allowed on the trail outside its guided walks and how many cars the parking lot holds, and its answers will be added here.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (9)

  1. Westport Land Conservation Trust: Snell Creek Conservation Area OpensPosted Oct. 27, 2026, by Charlotte Greeson: opening Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. with remarks, refreshments and walking tours including the berry patch; 64 acres at 585 Main Road in Central Village; partnership with the Buzzards Bay Coalition; more than 2,500 feet of tributaries; cold-water resource flowing to the East Branch of the Westport River; 1.5-mile loop through wet woodlands, glacial till and an oak-holly stand ending in a meadow around a one-acre farm field; Westport Food Pantry partnership; funders; 12th public access property, dawn to dusk daily; 5,600 acres, almost 3,000 of farmland. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  2. Westport Land Conservation Trust: Snell Creek Conservation ProjectPosted Dec. 22, 2025: purchase of 34 acres off Main Road completed that month; landowners Jay and Jill Szaro; Buzzards Bay Coalition partnership on an abutting parcel for public access and a new 1.5-mile trail; Jay Szaro quote; brook trout habitat in the Snell Creek and Angeline Brook watersheds. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  3. Westport Land Conservation Trust: Seasonal Stewardship Wrap-UpPosted Sept. 27, 2026: Trail Team volunteers planted 800 raspberry, blackberry and blueberry plants and 12 pear trees at Snell Creek; plants thriving despite heat and dry spells; Trail Team carpentry crew built a 40-foot raised bridge on granite blocks over the tributary to protect wetland habitat and keep visitors out of high water. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  4. Westport Land Conservation Trust: Varieties of AbundancePosted Oct. 23, 2026: berry varieties planted at Snell Creek; Westport Food Pantry to harvest and distribute starting in 2027, berries June to first frost; would-be pickers contact the food pantry. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  5. Westport Land Conservation Trust: Social Hike at Snell Creek and Bi-Weekly Bird Walk at Snell Creek (program pages)Program pages, posted Oct. 27, 2026: social hike Mon. Nov. 30, 3:30 p.m., for adults, hot drink after; bird walks Thu. Nov. 12 (moved from Wednesday for the holiday) and Wed. Nov. 25, 10 a.m., limit 15; about 1.5 miles, minimal incline, wet ground and exposed roots; sturdy closed-toed shoes, weather clothing, water, binoculars; no pets; park at the Snell Creek parking lot; registration online. Also https://westportlandtrust.org/public-programs/bi-weekly-bird-walk-at-snell-creek-2/. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  6. Westport Land Conservation Trust: Our PropertiesMore than 20 miles of public access trails; "Please observe posted rules at each property." Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  7. Westport Land Conservation Trust: ContactOffices at 573 Adamsville Road, open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; 508-636-9228; trails open sunrise to sunset daily; trail maintenance report form. Staff titles from https://westportlandtrust.org/about/ (Ross Moran, Executive Director; Charlotte Greeson, Development and Communications Coordinator). Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  8. Buzzards Bay Coalition: Westport Land Purchase Will Help Brook Trout HabitatPosted Feb. 8, 2026: Westport has six of the nine cold-water streams on the South Coast of Massachusetts and Cape Cod that are breeding grounds for brook trout; the Coalition has protected more than 400 acres around Westport tributaries including Lyons Brook, Angeline and Snell Creek. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  9. Emails to South Coast 360 from the Westport Land Conservation Trust, Nov. 12, 2026Charlotte Greeson, 12:03 p.m.: "We just opened Snell Creek Conservation Area at 585 Main Road" and "it was hopping yesterday, when so many people had the day off"; second reference "Land Trust". Ross Moran, 11:49 a.m.: Peaceful Acres closing tentatively early December; trails to open later in 2027 and be public; photo credit Charlotte Greeson. Read Nov. 12, 2026.

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