Under construction since last fall, the new Chapman Mill Pond parking area and trailhead is now open to users of the town-owned open space. The lot’s official opening event is planned for Saturday, June 4 when two experts will lead a guided hike from that point.

The inaugural educational walk was planned for Saturday, June 4, to coincide with the state-wide event known as Connecticut Trails Day. The Westbrook open space walk will be led by two experts who will speak on topics relevant to the Chapman Mill Pond open space.

First, Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge Manager Rick Potvin will describe an on-site vernal pool project that was developed to monitor climate change impacts on vernal pools. Second, Tom ODell, chairman of the town’s Conservation Commission, will discuss the impact of the hemlock woolly adelgid on Chapman Mill Pond’s hemlock forest and the ecological consequences.

The planned hike will leave at 10 a.m. on June 4 from the new parking area, located on the west side of the Route 145 just north of the Town Garage. The walk will be two hours long, from 10 a.m. until noon.

Development of the new parking area was funded in part by a $57,000 grant the town received from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Recreational Trail Grant Program.

“We are extremely grateful for their assistance without which it is unlikely the project would be completed in the foreseeable future,” said ODell of DEEP.

ODell said the new parking lot was designed to accommodate vehicles pulling horse trailers. This design detail will allow equestrians to use the open space trail system as well as hikers.

“There are a few [parking area] details [still] to be completed—we are waiting for signage and there is a bit more landscaping to finish—but the trails have been cleared and are ready for hiking,” said ODell.

The two miles of marked trails that wind through the Chapman Mill Pond open space are color-coded. There is a blue, a yellow, and a green trail. ODell is optimistic that trail maps showing these marked trails will be available to hand out to the public at the June 4 opening hike. A future Conservation Commission plan includes construction of a map kiosk at the parking area where trail maps can be stored.

While the 83 acres of Chapman Mill Pond open space abuts and connects to another 250 acres of the town-owned Horse Hill Woods open space, no trails have yet been constructed or marked that connect the two open space parcels.

A trailhead further north on Route 145 provides hikers with access to the 2.5 miles of marked trails in the town-owned Horse Hill Woods open space. The Horse Hill Woods trailhead parking area, about 1.8 miles north of I-95 on Route 145, will accommodate about five vehicles. That smaller parking area was constructed a number of years ago with support from the town’s Department of Public Works.

To date, Westbrook residents, with the financial support of state and federal grants, have voted to protect more than 500 acres of land within the town’s boundaries as open space.