New England National Scenic Trail: What's New for 2011

It runs 220 miles across Connecticut and Massachusetts, touring the full ecological, historical, and scenic diversity of southern New England. The New England National Scenic Trail celebrates its second anniversary on Wednesday, March 30 and begins its next season of snow-free outdoor fun. Here are some of the latest developments—and trip-planning resources—for 2011.

Interactive Trail Map A Google-map based work-in-progress, the map currently shows the entire trail route at whatever zoom-level you choose. Basic at this point, but watch for more access information—including trailheads and parking lots—in the coming months. I would expect this to become increasingly rich with content, images, etc. in the coming years.

2010 Notable Trail Accomplishments The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) was a flurry of activity in 2010. For a full overview of the highlights, read the NET 2010 Accomplishments Report. Here's what jumped out at me: Volunteers constructed 16 NET kiosks for placement at major trailheads throughout 2011. Report lists 5 thru-hikers so far. New 1.5-mile connector trail added in Ragged Mountain Preserve, Conn.

Guidebooks No detailed NET trail descriptions are currently available online. Detailed descriptions of the Massachusetts portion can be found in the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail Guide, available from AMC's Berkshire Chapter. For Connecticut, use The Connecticut Walk Book East and West, available from Connecticut Forest & Park Association. The trail is also included in AMC's Massachusetts Trail Guide, 9th ed. (AMC Books).

“Equipped” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Matt Heid.