Did you leave your CHP appointment with a prescription for a health-enhancing hike? No problem — CHP has a hiking path right outside the door of its Great Barrington Health Center!

Thanks to a 2016 collaboration between CHP, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Greenagers and Great Barrington Trails and Greenways, your trip to the
CHP’s Great Barrington Health Center can include a hike that can be short or long, depending on your choice at the fork in the trail.
In late 2016, CHP dedicated a newly constructed 1.5 mile hiking and walking trail, which connects a total of five miles of trails in the immediate vicinity. The CHP section was built by a teenage trail blazing crew from Greenagers, a youth outdoor jobs program.

The trail was funded by a $10,000 Community Preservation grant to CHP from the town of Great Barrington. Berkshire Natural Resources Council owns a portion of the land, and provided advance support for CHP in planning the project. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation provided access to its own nearby property to allow for trail construction, and the Field Pond Foundation donated $5,000 to map the project. Great Barrington Trails and Greenways contributed a new kiosk as well, at the north end of the CHP parking lot.

“Collaborations are integral to almost everything we do here at CHP, and being able to encourage our patients and our families with children to explore the outdoors is an important part of our work,”said Lia Spiliotes, interim CEO off CHP. “This project brought together some excellent conservation and recreation groups in a unique partnership that encourages people to get outside.”

The new trail, adjacent to the CHP parking lot at 444 Stockbridge Road, is a loop in and around the CHP property. Nearby, the state-managed 3-mile loop links Berkshire South Community Center to Fountain Pond at the north, just across Route 7 from Monument Mountain, a popular hiking destination. Across the street from CHP is BNRC’s recreational walking loop, the Housatonic Flats, with offers access to the Housatonic River and wetlands wildlife.

Come by and take the shorter or longer version of the area’s hiking opportunities, and explore all of the hiking trails throughout Great Barrington.

Susan Greenberg-Yarmush, certified nurse-midwife (CNM) with CHP Barrington OB-GYN, had a radio conversation on the WSBS 860-AM program “Ask the Nurse,” with host Cynthia Henry, herself a retired CNM. You can download the program here [Read more…]