Curious George Nature Trail to Get a Facelift This Summer

Dave Gaudioso of Like Father, Like Son Landscaping
preparing the trail for resurfacing.

With generous support from Eagle Scout candidate Ian McKinnon, the Town of Waterville Valley, Dave Gaudioso of Like Father, Like Son Landscaping, as well as other local businesses, the Curious George Nature Trail will soon once again be an accessible place to learn about and experience the ecology of the forests that surround us. The Curious George Nature Trail was originally created in 2004 as a tribute to Curious George authors and former Waterville Valley residents, Margret and H.A. Rey and was designed to be an outdoor classroom for learning about local ecology. The Margret and H.A. Rey Center uses the trail for its many hands-on science and nature programs with schools and families, and the trail is open to the public to explore and enjoy.

Before Dave started, you couldn't even see this
section of trail!

The Trail was originally designed to be wheelchair accessible but had become very overgrown in the last 10 years. This summer’s project will be done in stages with the first stage being done by Dave Gaudioso of Like Father, Like Son Landscaping and the second stage being done by Eagle Scout candidate Ian McKinnon. The first stage includes reestablishing and resurfacing the trail. Dave Gaudioso began this stage of the project by cutting back the vegetation that had encroached on the trail to bring the trail back to its original width and will then resurface the trail with ledge pack to create an even and level surface. Like Father, Like Son Landscaping is generously donating the labor costs associated with this stage of the project and have kindly offered to support Eagle Scout candidate Ian McKinnon with his stage of the project as well.

Once the resurfacing is complete, Ian McKinnon will oversee the next stage of the project in partial fulfillment of the Eagle Scout community service project requirement. This stage of the project will include repairing the large bridge near the start of the trail, reestablishing the section of trail removed during the relocation of the Curious George Cottage in 2010, sealing and sanding the benches along the trail, removing hazards such as dead and downed trees and vegetation near the trail, and redefining two drainage channels that are supposed to move standing water away from the sides of the trail. Ian will certainly have his work cut out for him this summer! Contact the Rey Center if you are interested in volunteering your time and talents to be a part of this great project (603-236-3308 or TheReyCenter.org). We invite you to take a lap around the Curious George Nature Trail a few times this summer and watch the transformation happen!