Editor’s note: This series focuses on local hiking and nature trails visited by the author with his wife, 2-year-old daughter and the family dog to showcase outdoor excursions that are family-friendly and/or comfortable options for someone who identifies as a novice hiker. However, this particular property does not allow dogs.

As the Easthampton edition of The Reminder has become a part of the community, one of the most enjoyable aspects has been discovering the area’s hidden gems. On a summer morning when looking for a place to hike before the mid-day heat settled in, the Maza family was able find a pleasant surprise for nature lovers nestled in a corner of the city.

Pomeroy Meadows Conservation Area, a part of the Pascommuck Conservation Trust, provided a relatively easy trek with a vast array of plants and trees as well as abundant evidence of wildlife. In fact, according to the trust, this particular 16.3-acre property is actually home to four different distinct ecological communities – a red maple forest, a white pine forest, a vernal pool and a shallow marsh.

Making your way through the trails, it is interesting to see the way these different natural habitats abut each other and transition from one to another. In a few short minutes, a hiker can walk from a platform overlooking wetlands to a high-canopy maple forest to a cluster of pines to a meadow filled with high grass and wild flowers and back into the maple forest.

The complete hike is an out and back measuring approximately a mile and a half. At the end of the main trail is access to the north branch of the Manhan River, which represents the northern boundary of the conservation area. When low, visitors can stand on the river’s silty banks. It was there that our party discovered prints we believe with our untrained eyes belonged to deer and raccoons as well as what may have been bobcat pawprints in the wet sand.

The trails are narrow in some places, but were generally well-cleared, especially given the fact that Tropical Storm Isaias had just made its way through a few days earlier. All of the trailways are extremely well-marked not only with colored blazes painted prominently on trees but also wayfinder signs posted near any crossroads.

The trail is mostly packed earth and a path of cut grass allows hikers to make a circle though the meadow area. There are some moderately steep portions as well as man-made wooden stairs and bridges, especially on the early portion of the path where running water breaks the trail. A pair of wood platforms offer lookouts of the frog pond area as well as the Oxbow Bend of the Manhan River. These overlooks are accessible via trails that shoot off of the main trail.

The conservation area has two points of access – at the end of Ranch Avenue and another at the end of Paul Street. However, parking is only allowed on Ranch Avenue. There is limited on-street parking with no parking area to speak of, so use proper judgment and respect the homeowners who live in the area. Due to the abundant water and wetlands, insect repellant is highly recommended.

For more information, visit http://www.pctland.org/pomeroy-meadows-conservation-area.