LeRoy L. Wood School Trail

Find yourself immersed in nature along Fairhaven’s LeRoy L. Wood School Trail, designed to engage young explorers’ curiosity. This short path through rich woods leads you past a vernal pool and along the edge of a bird-filled salt marsh on Priests Cove.

Features

A stone bench and small wooden box for lending books in the woods

Take a book from the “Little Library” at LeRoy L. Wood School Trail and read on the stone bench beside a vernal pool.

Go for a stroll on the Wood School Trail, and you’ll take in beautiful views while learning something at the same time! Fun interpretive signs along the trail help draw kids’ attention to the natural world around them and learn about the forest.

Like the nearby East Fairhaven School Trail, the Fairhaven Community Trail Network built this trail with the help of the Buzzards Bay Coalition. The trail isn’t just for school use; community members are welcome to walk here outside of school hours (weekdays 8:00am to 3:00pm).

Look for frogs and salamander eggs in the vernal pool on your walk, or watch for diving ospreys and graceful white egrets hunting in the salt marsh. If you’re looking for quiet time among the trees, borrow a book to read from the “Little Library” along the trail.

Trails

Wood School’s out-and-back trail is less than a mile long — a perfect length for families with young children. Blue blazes mark the trail, and small boardwalks bridge the wettest areas to keep your feet dry. (Download trail map)

About halfway down the trail, you’ll find the vernal pool. Just past the vernal pool, there is a small grove of trees off the trail where you’ll find the “Little Library” and a stone memorial bench. To reach the salt marsh, continue down the trail to pass over more wetlands until the trail reaches the salt marsh. A short path here leads you through the marsh grass to overlook Priests Cove. After reaching the marsh, the trail loops back and returns to the vernal pool.

Habitats & Wildlife

Coastal woods and wetlands meet at the Wood School Trail, creating a fascinating place packed with interesting plants and animals. In the fall, many different tree species here produce a rainbow of changing leaves. Low spots in the woods fill with water and snow melt to form vernal pools, temporary habitat where amphibians breed in the spring. Look up to spot acrobatic squirrels jumping between the trees, or close your eyes and listen to the melodies of dozens of songbirds in the canopy above.

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