River Walk is located adjacent to Great Barrington's Main Street, yet offers a rare nature experience of river and wildlife views. River Walk develops riverfront access in a densely populated setting, permitting pristine riparian areas to remain forever wild. Since 1988, 2900 community volunteers have contributed clean up, construction and maintenance, removing over 400 tons of debris, building the trail and planting thousands of native plants. Approximately 12,000 residents and tourists visit this popular downtown site yearly and experience simple methods of natural resource protection-native plant vegetative buffers, invasive-exotic plant control, bio-engineered riparian stabilization, local non-toxic trail materials, and non-point source pollution controls with raingardens, drop inlets, and permeable trail surfaces. River Walk's William Stanley Overlook and W.E.B. Du Bois River Park promote the river's significance to industrial and civil rights leaders of national and international importance. The trail is cared for by Greenagers, a local youth organization dedicated to good stewardship.
