Join this exciting new AMC Teen Trail Crew for its pilot year on the Bay Circuit Trail! The Bay Circuit Trail (BCT) is a 230+mile front country recreational resource that arcs around greater Boston from Newburyport on the North Shore to Kingston Bay in the south. Due to its urban/suburban location, the BCT provides close-to-home recreation and connects a multitude of diverse public and private lands and trail networks.

Participants 15-17 years of age will spend one week on a BCT section north of Boston, camping at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover and doing volunteer trail work on one or several nearby conservation properties. This crew is ideal for beginners who like being outdoors and are interested in hiking and trail work, but who have limited prior experience in hiking, camping or trail work.

The program begins on Sunday afternoon with an orientation, camp setup, and dinner. Each weekday, the crew will drive and/or hike to a reconstruction or maintenance project on the BCT. Work may involve clearing brush to better define the trail, creating drainages to help with erosion problems, installing structures like bog bridges or information kiosks, updating signage or trail markers, and other crucial stewardship tasks. Please remember that while we work within the abilities and comfort of the group, the nature of hiking and the work is strenuous, and we will be out rain or shine.

To supplement the volunteers’ hands-on experience, local conservation professionals and experts will visit to shed light on local history, ecology, and land management.

The crew will finish working on Friday in time to clean up before pickup Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Participants receive a letter confirming completion of 40 community service hours.

Camp Life: The crew is based at a public campground within Harold Parker State Forest. The large group site has picnic tables, a fire ring, swimming access, and ample tenting space. Surrounding woods provide distance from other campers. There are no electric or water hookups. A shared bathroom has running water and hot showers.

All participants share responsibilities for meal preparation and cleanup. After an early breakfast, we pack trail lunches and head out to the work site, returning in the late afternoon before dinner. As time allows, evenings include swimming, showering, games, campfires and general relaxing and enjoying being out in the woods!

$255.00 (AMC Members)

$280.00 (non-members)