Over a period of time, an addition to the Brewster Heath Trail has been made. In the winter, members of the local snowmobile club moved lumber to create a bridge over a wet area. In June, a group built the bridge and recently, a group has marked the trail. A few signs have been added and now the trail is “open for foot travel”.
The map of the trail is shown below. A snowmobile trail runs northwest/south east through the Heath Brook map and a section of that trail is part of the “new” trail. The old trail was the northern loop that goes near the Heath. The new trail is the southern loop. If you are walking the trail system in a clockwise direction (recommended), you would park in the McManus Rd. parking lot and head down the hill. You will cross the snowmobile trail and continue straight. When you come to the trail junction, bear left and this will take you to a nice view of the Heath. Continuing along the trail you will come to a trail junction. At that junction, there is a sign that points to “Parking” and you would go in that direction if you want to return quickly without going on the new trail. Going on the new trail by turning left, you will quickly get to the bridges over wet areas and be close to the swampy area. The trail then continues to an open area with some old logs. One long one is hollow so it was not taken as a saw log and another is very twisted so it, too was not taken for lumber either. The trail then continues near the shore of the Heath and passes a huge downed pine. This pine has been on the ground for a long time and may have been the “Kings Mark” tree that dated from the Colonial Days. Kings Mark trees were claimed by the King and might have been used for masts for British ships. After passing this notable tree, the trail turns and goes through some old lumbered areas and then back up to the snowmobile trail. At this junction, there is a “Parking” sign pointed to the right indicating that you should follow the snowmobile trail. Keep an eye out for another “Parking” sign pointed left that will take you back to the parking lot along the trail that you walked before. The total distance of the loop is about 1 1/2 miles. If you follow the trail in a counterclockwise manner, you have to pay attention to find the left turn off the snowmobile trail to get down to the Heath. There is a “Parking” sign on the right side of the snowmobile trail and a map on the left side with white blazes indicating a turn. You should look for these or else you will follow the snowmobile trail to Pleasant Valley Rd. (Not a bad walk but it won’t get you to the Heath.)
The trail is marked with white blazes. Generally, there is a single white rectangle but if there are two, it means that the trail makes a sharp turn. Because the rectangle on the top of this pair is to the left of the lower one, the trail turns to the left.
Below is a picture of one of the “Parking” signs. They are quite visible, perhaps a little out of place, but they indicate the quickest way to the parking lot.
At trail junctions, there are small maps that should help you understand where you are. One is shown below along with one of the white blazes.
Enjoy the new trail, take only pictures and leave only footprints. This is a natural area and the desire is to keep it that way.
Finally, one of the signs welcoming people to the Heath seemed to be a nice eating place. The rocks at the base of the sign are covered with the remains of a meal, probably of a red squirrel.
