This land is your land

We're fortunate in New England to have open spaces, from vast private lands that are open to public to municipal, state and national parks and forests. But one resource rarely seems to get much attention, and that's the lands under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Most corps sites have picnic areas, very easy walking trails, and universally accessible facilities, making them wonderful for the very young, the very old, and for anyone with physical challenges. Several areas are developing fully-accessible hiking trails and bank fishing areas for people with physical challenges, opening up more possibilities for even more people. Canoeing, kayaking, rowing, sailing, trail biking, swimming and camping are also available at many sites.

The park rangers at various corps projects seem willing to go out of their way to help more people enjoy these public lands.

In some parts of the country, the corps got a bad reputation for fostering huge, often questionable hydo and irrigation projects, for dredging streams and creating channels, and for generally creating unnecessary environmental chaos and disruption.

Here in New England, however, corps projects are small and necessary. Most of our towns and cities grew along the banks of rivers, which provided transportation and power. Many people also drowned when the rivers flooded. The corps stepped following World War II with flood control projects.

Flood control requires space to store excess water. All that land, when it isn't flooded (which is most of the time) creates a host of recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat and open space. You can hike trails that wind through the woodlands and mountain bike on many of the still-maintained old roads. Roadways on the tops of many of the dams are long, flat and well-paved, making them ideal for rollerblading.  Dams also have big lawn areas for picnicking and just playing outdoors. Most corps projects also actively manage habitat for wildlife. This makes them ideal places for birding and wildlife viewing spring and summer, and hunting in the fall.

Most dams also offer fishing, waterfowl hunting and all sorts of water play including canoeing, kayaking, rowing, and sailing. Many corps projects also offer swimming beaches, some have camping. And, best of all, most Corps of Engineer projects are underused. The exception may be sunny summer weekends at areas that offer swimming beaches.

On the next sunny weekend (or even a cloudy one), why not go exploring someplace new. How you use all that water and open space is up to you. It's there; it's open; it's your land and water.

A world of opportunities

The Corps Lake Gateway website describes in detail corps recreation areas on lakes. It also has links to campsite reservations and other public recreation areas.

Here are a few corps sites in New England:

Connecticut:

• Hop Brook Lake in Middlebury has hiking and human- or wind-powered boating.
• West Thompson Lake, North Grosvenordale has camping, boating and and a great disc golf course
• Mansfield Hollow Lake, Mansfield, has a sporting dog field-trialing area, good fishing and lots of hiking.
• Northfield Brook Lake has swimming and hiking.

Massachusetts

• Barre Falls Dam in Hubbarston is part of 22,000 acres of state conservation land with hiking, mountain biking and an 18-hole disc golf course.
• Buffumville Lake in Charleton provides swimming, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, a seven-mile hiking trail and a 27-hole disc golf course.
• The Cape Cod Canal has wonderful fishing, walking and biking
• The Charles River Natural Valley Storage Area just south and west of Boston provides several thousand acres of corps owned or controlled land with exceptional wildlife viewing and birding. The marshlands and river corridors are a natural wonderland amid suburbia. The best way to explore much of this area is by canoe or kayak.

New Hampshire

• Blackwater Dam has lots of hiking. Every spring water is released for a kayak and canoe slalom race.
• Franklin Falls may be the most scenic of all corps areas in New England. It has miles of wonderful mountain biking on dirt roads and single-tracks, walking, canoeing and kayaking.
• The huge Hopkinton/Everett project has swimming in a couple of locations (Elm Brook Park and Clough State Park), a new mountain bike trail being constructed by the New England Mountain Bike Association), and lots of fishing and boating.
• MacDowell Dam in Peterborough offers swimming, boating, several gentle hikes, and superb birding opportunities

Vermont

• Ball Mountain Lake in Jamaica and Londonderry has hiking and camping. Twice a year there are big water releases for whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing.
• Just downstream, Townshend Lake has a swimming beach and wonderful flatwater canoeing and kayaking.