Trail Mix and Sass: Lost to the Forest

By Patricia Racine

June 2026

I am angry. I am very angry at the complete disregard for clear and simple rules at the Becket Historic Quarry. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the misunderstanding of a sign that reads “No Swimming Allowed” translated into “Swim at your own Risk.” I am astonished that some people would think that a brackish, stagnant, water-filled hole surrounded by jagged rocks and rusty metal would be a nice place to swim. But mostly I am angry that a nice hiking spot is now closed because people couldn’t follow the rules.

The Hudson & Chester Granite Quarry was a huge operation that boosted the local economy in the late 19th and early 20th century. They dug out high-quality blue granite that went into projects all over the east coast; they even had their own dedicated rail line, the Becket & Chester Railroad, to bring all that rock down the mountain. In the late ‘40s the company walked away from the location leaving a sizable amount of equipment to be absorbed by the forest. Then, after 50 years of neglect, the Becket Land Trust was formed and it set about raising money locally to save the property from redevelopment as a new quarry. 

This group worked diligently to preserve the property and open it to the public as a place for top notch hiking trails and historical education. When COVID rolled around, everyone was flocking to our quiet trails just to get outside and off of their couches; the little hidden gem that had previously had 6,000 visitors a year jumped to 14,000. It became just too much for the Trust’s resources and they looked to the Trustees of Reservations to take over; this transfer was to ensure that this special site would have the long term professional staff and financial backing needed to maintain the trails and preserve the historic features for future generations.

Unfortunately, after last year’s fatality that is not going to happen. No longer will you be able to bring children up there to marvel at the relics of a bygone era. No longer will you be able to climb up to the vista point to see the valley below painted in all the bright colors of autumn. No longer will you be able to take a quick hike after dinner to the quarry pit on a warm, late summer evening. But also, no longer will people be able to hurt themselves by jumping off of the cliffs into dark, murky water that hides machinery and lots of cables just waiting for victims to maim. No longer will our emergency response people have to go through the logistical nightmare of figuring out how to rescue someone from that pit. And no longer will people be able to blatantly disregard rules set in place for their own safety and the safety of others who wanted to enjoy the quarry.

It’s pretty simple: when you are on property, even if it is open to the public, you should follow the rules set in place by the landowner. And beyond that, anytime you step into nature follow the principle of Leave No Trace: “take nothing but pictures and leave only footprints.” We should be doing all that we can to preserve our forested areas because we are losing them at a rapid rate. Just look at all the solar fields going in around us. And for goodness sake, please don’t continue to go up to the quarry pit. It will be considered trespassing and I highly doubt The Trustees of Reservations will be cool about it.