Hikers at Pickerel Pond no longer have to trudge a mile and a half up Oak Street and through an industrial park just to reach the other side of the water. Natick officially opened its new floating boardwalk at the pond on Sunday, connecting trails near the Harwood Road trailhead to the rest of the pond's path network in a corner of East Natick that had long been split in two.
Matt Gardner, chair of Natick's Conservation Commission, and Linda Wollschlager, vice chair of the town's Select Board, cut the ribbon together, according to the Natick Report. More than a dozen attendees tried out the new span right after the ceremony, per the same report. Gardner told the outlet the bridge had been “a long time coming” and called the area “a magnificent corner of Natick.”
The project also drew a nod to Martin Kessel, who recently stepped down from the town's Open Space Advisory Committee, the Natick Report noted. Pickerel Pond has trailheads on Harwood Road, Erie Drive, and Huron Drive, and the new boardwalk is meant to tie that network together rather than leave hikers circling around it.
From 20-Minute Detour to a Five-Minute Crossing
Before the boardwalk, getting from one side of the pond's trail system to the other meant a 1.5-mile walk along Oak Street and through an industrial park, according to CBS Boston. That detour took roughly 20 minutes; crossing the finished boardwalk was expected to take about five, the station reported.
The structure was designed to run 195 feet across the pond, CBS Boston's earlier reporting on the project said. Engineers planned to anchor it with 200-pound “pyramid anchors” resting on the pond bottom to keep the floating span steady, per the station's report.
Funding and a Delayed Handrail Shipment
CBS Boston's reporting on the project pegged construction costs at $352,000, describing the floating design as roughly $200,000 cheaper than building a traditional wooden bridge across the pond. The Natick Report's reporting on the project finishes the funding picture differently, citing a state grant and mitigation funding from Mathworks, while the station's earlier coverage had described a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant combined with existing town funds for off-road connectivity.
Construction was originally expected to begin in August, with a possible finish by the end of September if things stayed on schedule, the station reported at the time. The opening ultimately slipped slightly due to a delayed handrail shipment, according to a notice posted on the Town of Natick's website, which confirmed the boardwalk was complete and open to the public. Town project records also describe earlier bidding delays, noting the effort moved forward with construction after initial bids came in over budget, according to the town's project page.
Permitting Trail Behind the Build
The town's project page lays out a multi-month permitting process before any construction began. A Notice of Intent was filed with the Natick Conservation Commission in January, the project came up at the commission's Feb. 5 and Feb. 19 meetings, and the commission voted to issue an Order of Conditions on Feb. 19, with that order formally issued on Feb. 26.
Natick's boardwalk is a fraction of the size of a similar structure in Marlboro, where a popular 3,000-foot floating boardwalk opened in 2024, CBS Boston noted in its coverage. The Town of Natick also promoted the Pickerel Pond celebration ahead of time on Facebook, inviting residents to “join the Natick Conservation Commission for the ribbon cutting celebration of the new floating boardwalk at the Pickerel Pond Conservation Area.”
More Upgrades Planned for Next Spring
Town officials aren't done with the site. Gardner said Natick plans to install box stairs at both ends of the boardwalk next spring and add native plants around the pond, according to the Natick Report. Proposed future improvements also include upgrades to the path from Bradford Road in Wethersfield, Gardner said, though the outlet reported those additional upgrades depend on the town securing further funding.
