We are happy to announce that the FBRTC is partnering again with the Tri-Valley Front Runners for our annual FBRTC 5K Road Race and Walk. The race is scheduled for May 17, 2025, and will be at the Grove Street trailhead. Race Registration can be found at the link below.
https://www.tri-valleyfrontrunners.com/fbrtc/FBRTC5K.php
Hey everyone! We will be at Beaver Pond next weekend for the Franklin Recreation Department’s 2024 Earth Day event. Stop on by and say hello while you are picking up your supplies.
We are excited to announce the winners of the first annual photo contest #SNETTPhoto2020!
We would like to thank everyone who entered and we are looking forward to your participation again next year.
1st Place – Under 18: John Foley – Our Neck of the Woods
1st Place – Over 18: Carina Bischoff – Snowing Leaves
2nd Place – Over 18: Danielle Morin – Peaceful
3rd Place – Over 18: Eileen Ridgway – Peaceful Easy Feeling
Honorable Mentions – Over 18 (in no particular order)
Laura Klowan – 2 Tired Pups
Chris Fauteux – First Snow Fat Bike Ride on the SNETT
Lindsay Jeter – A Shepherd Sunrise
Francesca Feola – October Winter Wonderland
Congratulations to all!
You can view all the submitted images on Flickr.
The winning photographs will be published in The Country Gazette in the upcoming weeks. Once they are, this post will be updated with a link.
On October 30, 2020 a small group of local and state officials and FBRTC representatives gathered on a snowy day at the newly finished Prospect Street tunnel in Franklin, MA for an official ribbon cutting ceremony.
We are beyond excited about this tunnel providing a great connectivity between the the SNETT trail in Franklin and Bellingham (and beyond)! We are already seeing substantial increase in the trail usage by both the pedestrians and the bicyclists and we hope you are enjoying this wonderful nature resource in our communities as much as we are.
We are very grateful to all involved who made this project happen. Thank you for your time, effort and perseverance! Countless hours and years of work are behind the improvements you see on the trail.
We would like to use this post to gather a collection of materials about how this tunnel project came to fruition, who helped along way etc. Below please find links for you to browse at your convenience.
Happy Trails!
PS. We will have an event to celebrate with all of you when circumstances allow.
FBRTC Tunnel Approved Announcement: https://www.franklinbellinghamrailtrail.org/2019/09/13/big-news-prospect-st-tunnel-funding-approved/
Milford Daily News: A tunnel bridging a troublesome gap along the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) has been reconfigured and is open once again.
The journey to upgrade the tunnel – Franklin Matters: https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/the-franklin-bellingham-rail-trail.html
Jeff Roy: Facebook post (history of the project funding in photos) – With good synergy, great things can happen.
MetroWest Daily News: Photos – SNETT Tunnel Celebrated in Franklin
FBRTC Photos: Tunnel opening on Flickr.
It took one year from beginning to end and we are very happy to share that the tree signs have been installed today!
There are 34 tree signs installed along the the 2.5 miles of the SNETT rail trail starting at Grove Street in Franklin all the way to Center Street in Bellingham, MA.
There are a number of people we need to thank – the Franklin & Bellingham Rail Trail Committee volunteers who have applied for a grant (Robert Gilstein, Tony DaSilva), designed the signs and reserached the hardware (Darren Marino), managed the tree identification (Rita McCarthy, Darren Marino, Renata Gilarova), worked with the sign manufacturer and coordinated the install (Renata Gilarova) and finally our awesome install crews (Darren Marino, Rita McCarthy, Renata Gilarova and Chris Mascio with his family).
This project was sponsored by the Franklin Cultural Council (grant in the amount of $507) and the Franklin and Bellingham Rail Trail Committee.
We would also like to thank Doug Williams, Director of the Stony Brook Mass Audubon in Norfolk, MA and Cary Vandenakker, DCR for help with the tree identifications and the NHS Print for manufacturing the signs.
We hope you will enjoy this latest SNETT trail addition and that you will take an advantage of the QR codes on the signs to learn more about the individual trees. Happy trails!
We appreciate all our volunteers very much. Without their advocacy and hard work, there would be a very little progress happening. Without them, there would still be obstacles on the trail after the storms. Without them, there would be no trail events happening. Without them, the trail would be littered with trash. So thank you to all our wonderful volunteers!
Featured is our volunteer member Rita M. after trash pick up along the rail trail in Franklin and Bellingham. Thank you, Rita!
We are so excited that the tunnel project under the Prospect Street in Franklin is on schedule! Please read the advisory below about the trail closure. We also suggest to follow our Facebook page for any updates, as well as the Town of Franklin, Franklin Police and Franklin DPW pages for any traffic advisories for Prospect Street during the construction. Thank you!
WHAT: Starting the week of Monday, May 11, 2020, and continuing through Monday, October 31, 2020, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will install a new underpass at Prospect Street in the Town of Franklin along the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT).
The trail will be closed between Lake Street in the Town of Bellingham and Spring Street in the Town of Franklin, and trail users should plan to use other parts of the SNETT during this period of time.
Additionally, due to safety concerns, the public will not be allowed within the work zone area and passage around the work zone at Prospect Street in the Town of Franklin cannot be provided. Furthermore, the time period to complete the work is only an estimate, and may require additional time to complete the project.
WHERE: Lake Street in Bellingham and Spring Street in Franklin
WHEN: Monday May 11, 2020 – Monday, October 31, 2020
As we look back, 2019 was a great year for the FBRTC and the SNETT. Please click below to read or download our “2019 – Year In Review” newsletter to learn more!
As we look forward, there are many more exciting things to come, especially the long awaited Prospect Street tunnel in Franklin. We thank you for your support and are looking forward to another successful year ahead!
Sunday, May 19th at 10AM. Lake Street SNETT parking lot
Join the Franklin Bellingham Rail Trail Committee on our next monthly trail walk. Meet us at the Lake Street, Bellingham SNETT parking lot on Sunday, May 19th at 10AM. Families and leashed dogs always adds to the fun!
Please join our members for the monthly group walk on the SNETT rail trail on Friday, April 19th at 10am. This month, we will start at the Lake St (Bellingham, MA) parking lot. Bring friends, family and your four-legged well behaved, leashed companions! We are looking forward to walking with you!
