The 300 Committee Land Trust's page for the Moraine Trail asks something small of hikers. When you park at one of the access areas, leave a note in your window saying you are hiking the Moraine Trail. The same page says the land trust is "working on securing better parking for access to these trails."
That note-in-the-window arrangement tells you how much of Falmouth's upland walking works. The trail is real, well blazed and loved. But the ground under parts of it, and the gravel where many walkers leave their cars, belongs to someone else. This fall that matters more than usual. The Select Board is debating how to protect the Moraine Trail's Route 151 entrance as housing moves forward on the land around it. A few miles away, the land trust is planning a new trail on 48 acres it owns outright.
Ten Miles, and a Trailhead on Someone Else's Parcel
The Moraine Trail runs about 10 miles, mostly north to south, across hundreds of acres of woodland. White rectangular blazes mark the whole route. Two stacked blazes signal a turn, and the top blaze sits offset toward the direction of the turn. The 300 Committee publishes separate maps for the North, Middle and Long Pond sections. The Middle map covers the Kettle Holes area and the Collins Woodlot. You can download all of them from the land trust's Moraine Trail page.
The trailhead and its parking area are just off Nathan Ellis Highway, Route 151. As the Falmouth Enterprise reported on October 23, part of the trail crosses a 17.36-acre property owned by CLSV Associate Limited Partnership. A mix of age-restricted and unrestricted housing is proposed there. According to a 300 Committee map cited in that report, the parking sits near a small lot the town calls Lot C. The town does not own Lot C outright. It holds a tax-taking interest in it.
Lot C is one of four small parcels, three of them about 0.22 acres each, that sit inside the larger property. The town wants to dispose of all four. So a quarter-acre the town only partly controls now decides where walkers park for the town's longest trail.
Three Ways the Board Could Keep It Open
The Select Board first took this up in February. It tabled the matter so Associate Town Counsel Eric Hammerland could study a land-swap proposal, then picked it up again on September 28 and once more this month. The Enterprise's account describes three options:
- A land swap. Board member Douglas C. Brown, the main advocate, proposed keeping a corner of the lot for parking and trail access. In exchange, the town would give up parcels that stand in the way of the development. Hammerland cautioned that a swap could be legally and practically difficult.
- An auction. Hammerland recommended selling the parcels at auction. Because they would sell at market value, he said, procurement law would bar the town from asking for concessions beyond the sale price. He estimated minimum bids of about $8,000 each for the two tax-taking parcels.
- A different front door. Board member Heather M.H. Goldstone pointed to a 2.19-acre town-owned parcel at the corner of Route 28 and Route 151, just west of the development site. It could become the public access point if talks between the developer and the land trust fall through. She noted that keeping access could mean rerouting the trail.
The developer has "volunteered" an intent to keep both the parking and the trail access, Hammerland told the board, though both could shift slightly as plans move forward. Goldstone said the 300 Committee had already held positive talks with the developer about keeping access in some form. She explained her stake this way, as quoted in the Falmouth Enterprise:
"I agree very strongly with maintaining public access to this trail. It's the longest trail—at least that I'm aware of—that we have in town. The 10-mile contiguous trail is important for me."
The board did not settle on a land swap. It asked counsel and staff to check for any restrictions on the 2.19-acre parcel, which is coded "930 — Vacant Select" in the Agricultural AA zone. For now the trailhead stays where it is, and the question stays open.
What $5.95 Million Bought Off Benjamin Nyes Lane
North Falmouth Woodlands is the opposite case. The land trust owns the ground before a single trail is cut.
The 300 Committee's agreement with LTC, LLC covered about 56 acres at 48 Benjamin Nyes Lane and 0 Quaker Road. Forty-eight acres were permanently conserved. The remaining 7.5 or so, which hold a vacant, dilapidated house, were set aside for affordable and workforce housing. The sale closed on January 15, 2026, at a land price of $5.95 million. With support and stewardship costs, the land trust puts the total project budget at $6.1 million. The money came from four sources. Falmouth's Community Preservation Act funds put in $2 million, and a state MA LAND grant added $500,000. Habitat for Humanity, grants and private fundraising covered $1 million, and the land trust's own fundraising and grants supplied $2.6 million.
The trail plan has two parts. The land trust's listing for its October 22 community meeting describes a one-mile loop through the woods. Staff, volunteers and community members will cut it. The second part is an ADA-accessible path, and the 300 Committee is asking for Community Preservation funds to hire an eco-design firm to design and build it. The Falmouth Enterprise's preview put the accessible section at a quarter mile. No construction schedule or opening date has been announced. For now, the Woodlands trail is a plan, not a walk.
Here is how the two trails compare this fall:
| Moraine Trail | North Falmouth Woodlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | About 10 miles, through-hike or in sections | A planned one-mile loop plus a quarter-mile accessible path |
| Who holds the ground | Partly private, including the 17.36-acre Route 151 parcel | The 300 Committee, 48 permanently conserved acres |
| Parking | A note in the window; Route 151 lot under discussion | To be set in the design |
| Status as of late October 2026 | Open; trailhead access before the Select Board | In design; no opening date |
The loop will be cut by hand, and the accessible path depends on a funding request. Both mean the Woodlands trail will open in stages, at a pace set by volunteers and the CPA process. Once it opens, though, its access will not depend on a note in a car window.
Archery Season Is Already Under Way
Anyone walking either set of woods this fall shares them with hunting season. MassWildlife's 2026 season summary lists these statewide dates:
- Deer archery: October 5 through November 28
- Fall wild turkey: October 5 through November 28
- Ruffed grouse: October 17 through November 28
- Pheasant and quail: October 17 through December 31
- Shotgun deer: November 30 through December 12
- Primitive firearms deer: December 14 through 31
The special early deer season in the same summary applies only to Zones 13 and 14, which MassWildlife's zone map defines as Dukes County and Nantucket, not Falmouth. MassWildlife's deer hunting regulations require deer hunters to wear 500 square inches of blaze orange on the chest, back and head during the shotgun, primitive firearms and certain other seasons. The agency's safety guidance for non-hunters advises everyone in the woods during hunting season to wear blaze orange as well. It also suggests orange for dogs and keeping pets leashed and visible. Whether hunting is allowed on a given parcel depends on that parcel, so check with the landowner or the managing organization before you assume.
November on the North Side of Town
The North Falmouth Woodlands meeting was held at North Falmouth Elementary School, 62 Old Main Road. On Saturday, November 14, from 2 to 3 PM, "Nyes & Neighbors: A Walk through North Falmouth Village" starts just up that road at North Falmouth Congregational Church, 155 Old Main Road, according to the Falmouth Cultural Council calendar. The walk carries the Nye family name, the same name on Benjamin Nyes Lane, where the new trail will be built.
On November 18, the 300 Committee hosts a nature-craft workshop at its East Falmouth headquarters. The land trust has also said its BioBliss volunteer-appreciation event will take place in November, though it has not posted a date.
The season dates and regulations above are general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with MassWildlife before heading out.
Walking land in Falmouth sometimes means knowing who holds title to the ground under the trail, and who holds the parking lot, which can be a different party. If those questions touch a property your family owns or is considering, Paul Grover is glad to talk through what the public record shows. Start a confidential conversation.
