The Westfield River in Western Massachusetts offers over 43 miles of classic New England whitewater and is home to a wily native trout population. The river corridor also contains one of the state's largest roadless wilderness areas, which is home to bald eagles and black bear.
    
Now, a conservation partnership is working to develop a network of trails to help the public experience this wild and scenic landscape. Starting this summer, the 70-foot granite walls of The Trustees' Chesterfield Gorge will serve as a gateway to six miles of public and private trails that link the gorge to Knightsville Dam in Huntington.

The trail corridor is the first step in the East Branch Trail Project, a proposed trail network that will link the communities of Huntington, Chesterfield, Cummington,  Windsor, and Savoy. The project is the work of the Westfield River Wild & Scenic Advisory Committee (WRW&SAC), a partnership of local towns, land trusts, government agencies, and The Trustees that formed to preserve the outstanding natural resources of the Westfield River, which in 1993 was designated the state's first National Wild and Scenic River.

The East Branch Trail Project will link natural and historic resources, such as this 19-century mill site.