Pleasant Valley All Persons Trail Expansion
Pleasant Valley's popular All Persons Trail provides easy, universal access to beautiful Pike’s Pond. The expansion will lengthen the trail to nearly 1 mile, centered around the pond with fantastic opportunities for wildlife viewing and inclusive educational programs. We need your support to make it happen.
Improving Accessibility at Pleasant Valley
Last year we opened our new visitor center with modern, accessible, and family friendly restrooms; accessible outdoor program space; and multi-sensory, interactive educational displays.
Spring 2023 will bring a major expansion to Pleasant Valley’s 1/3-mile universally accessible All Persons Trail (APT). The existing APT is one of the most popular trails in the sanctuary, providing easy, universal access to beautiful Pike’s Pond.
The expansion will lengthen the trail to nearly 1 mile, centered around the pond with fantastic opportunities for wildlife viewing, extensive and inclusive educational programs, and positive nature experiences.
What is an All Persons Trail?
APTs are designed to be wide, flat, and without obstacles to ensure visitors of all ages or those requiring mobility assistance devices can have a safe experience in nature. They also make it easy for families with young children—in or out of a stroller—to explore.
Mass Audubon’s APTs go beyond Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and include universally accessible interpretive features, including:
- Unique post-and-rope guide system that enables individuals with visibility or balance needs a way to navigate the trails. Beads on the rope indicate an interactive stop or nearby seating.
- Engaging multisensory interpretive displays offer opportunities to encourage visitors to interact with nearby natural features, tactile objects, or listen for the sounds of resident species.
- Multiuse seating areas feature benches and extra space for wheelchairs, powered mobility devices, or strollers. These are strategically installed at intervals to provide spaces for visitors to rest while taking in the wonderful scenic areas around them.
- Trail maps in printed or tactile formats, a Braille guide, and an audio tour available as a download to a smartphone or other MP3 player.
Learn more about All Persons Trails
Support This Project
Your gift will help ensure that nature connections at Pleasant Valley are accessible to visitors of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds for generations to come.
Campaign Expense Budget
Permitting, Design, and Construction: $273,670
New 10x10-foot observation platform, 180-foot boardwalk, 975-foot surfaced trail, and 3 seating areas. Includes contingency.
Maintenance Endowment: $84,500
Fund to support long-term upkeep and replacement costs.
Visitor Services: $32,500
Directional and tactile signage, audio tour, Braille guide, and accessible outdoor equipment to loan.
Additional Ways to Give
To make an offline contribution, contact the Development office at 781-259-2111, by email, or by mailing a check payable to Mass Audubon (with "APT Expansion at Pleasant Valley" in the memo line) to Mass Audubon, ATTN: Development Office, 208 S. Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773.