About Us

The Bay State Trail Riders Association is an organization whose #1 priority is keeping trails open for equestrian use. We also advocate for multi-use trails that are horse friendly such as hiking, mountain biking, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, running and snowshoeing.

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Mission

Trails play a remarkable role in all of our lives. As one of our greatest assets, trails enable us to explore, travel and savor the world’s natural wonders. They are the best way to see nature’s hidden treasures and the easiest way to encourage children, as well as adults, to adopt healthy lifestyles.

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Membership

There are so many reasons to join BSTRA. Join us this year and become one of our many members having fun riding the trails at BSTRA events. Learn about all the benefits of being a member and how you can contribute to saving trails for trail riding in Massachusetts.

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Calendar

Bay State Trail Riders Association, Inc. has a busy schedule of events, including trail rides, work days, meetings, etc. Use our calendar and map to stay up to date on everything we have planned, to select events you would like to attend, and to get registration information. You can even register online.

Our rides are fun and social, and you ride at your own pace on marked trails through state forests and other locations. After the ride catch up with old friends and meet new friends over lunch served to registered riders.

Calendar

Featured Sponsors

Highlights of Recent Work

Sweet William Bridge
October 27, 2020

Eagle Scout Bridge
October 27, 2020

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
July 10, 2018

BSTRA Receives DCR Partneship Grant
January 15, 2018

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Bay State Trail Riders Association is with Chrissy Barch and Frank Whitney.

2 days ago

Our June 13th, 2021 National Trails Day goes down as probably our biggest and best out of the 29 years we’ve been hosting this event! Between the registrants and volunteers — and our event Sponsor George Yered of Yered Trailers — there were 98 people celebrating trails on this very important day when the eyes of the nation are focused on the importance of trails for outdoor recreation and fitness. This year it was held at Greenbriar Recreation Area, Hodges Village Dam in Oxford, MA. Phil and Jane Rutledge put together the scenic 8.5 mile route for this NEHT affiliated ride — and I heard nothing but good comments about the trails we used in the non-motorized equestrian side of the park. Crysanda Boisvert did an exceptional job with the marking, so it was easy to follow all the turns along the way. I am always amazed at just how scenic this park is, and on a picture perfect weather day like we had, it was even more spectacular — especially since the Mountain Laurel was in full bloom! If you haven’t ridden there before, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.Greenbriar had another plus for us — the easy, spacious parking area! That was particularly important since we had such a fantastic turnout. Our parking attendants were David Maenzo, Deb Deschenes and Sue Quirk, and they directed trailers into spots along both sides of the big field. Kelly Shaw and Donna Michelson were very efficient at the Registration Table, while Sue Sanders and her granddaughter, Sadie, were busy handing out Gift Bags and long sleeve shirts with the BSTRA National Trails Day logo on it. Off to the side, Jim Shaw was heating up the eggplant parmesan, Italian meatballs and pasta that would be part of the lunch awaiting riders when they returned from the ride. Mary Wood added a tossed salad to the menu and Donna Johnson provided the fresh watermelon. Deb Deschene’s carrot cake was definitely a hit on the dessert table for those who had room for dessert. Cookies and brownies from Donna Johnson, Sue Quirk, Donna Michelson and Mary Wood rounded out the dessert menu. Special thanks to Kelly Shaw for making the eggplant parmesan, and Lynn Paresky, Sue Sanders and Sadie Sanders for making the meatballs, pasta and sauce. There was no excuse for anyone leaving hungry! We thank Wegman’s, BJ’s and Stop & Shop, our Food Sponsors, for their help with providing food for our lunch.After lunch was the presentation of Awards for the Top Participants, Runners Up and Honorable Mentions. The prize packages for them were all donated by our sponsors Cashel Company, The Mane Place, Equinety, Equinature, The Saddle Shed and Davis Manufacturing. I want to personally thank each of the recipients who put the time and effort into collecting sponsors for their Sponsor Papers. Between them, a total of $15, 525 was raised for BSTRA’s trail improvement projects. What a great thing to do for National Trails Day! Here are our winners:Placing: Winner: Amount Top 8: 1st Lynn Paresky $6,6252nd Donna Johnson $3,000 3rd Becky Kalagher $1,550 4th Kathy Richards $1,150 5th Sue Quirk $ 800 6th Crysanda Boisvert $ 500 7th Peggy Rotti $ 500 8th Rose Zariczny $ 375Runners Up:9th Matilda & Scarlet Gervais $ 35010th Kirsten Hodges $ 225Honorable Mentions: 11th Sherry Perry $12012th Kerianne Foley $10013th Rita Ballou $10014th Julia Taddei $10015th Mary Ellen Coyne $ 40The “Horsing Around” Quilt Raffle was next, with Diane Lane’s winning ticket being pulled! Congratulations, Diane!!! She was extremely excited to get the quilt! Special thanks to Kathy Rich of A Stitch ‘n Good Time for donating the quilt.The raffle at National Trails Day has always been pretty amazing, and this year we again had $4,000+ in prizes on the raffle table — all of which were donated by our generous business sponsors to help BSTRA raise funding for trail improvement projects. Betsey MacDonald’s painting entitled “Water Lilies” was a very popular item, and Kelly Shaw was the lucky winner of that prize. Jim Shaw won the Bayside Resort Mini Vacation Gift Certificate. Other big winners were Chrissy Barch and Karen Parlin who stepped up to the table quite a few times. With so many prizes, lots of people went home with one or more. It was fun seeing the enthusiasm as tickets were pulled and winners rushed up to make their selections.I was happy to see so many new faces at this ride. Judging from the comments, they were happy with what was for many of them, their first time at a BSTRA ride. New member Andrea Blair’s comment was, “What a beautiful ride we had today!! Weather was gorgeous and the riders and volunteers were so friendly and helpful! Fabulous lunch and goodies!! Thank you!!”Large events like this wouldn't be possible without a lot of volunteers and the support of our sponsors. Special thanks to: Kelly and Jim Shaw, Sue Quirk, Donna Johnson, Lynn Paresky, Mary Wood, Deb Deschenes, Sue and Sadie Sanders, Chris Barch, David Maenzo, Karen Parlin, Donna Michelson, Phil and Jane Rutledge, Crysanda Boisvert, Becky Kalagher and Rose Zariczny — you all did a great job. And thanks, George Yered, for sponsoring our event and stepping in to help, too!This year’s theme was “Be seen. Be safe.” That’s why there was such an abundance of orange in the Award Packages and in the Gift Bags. We were able to give away those really nice long sleeve shirts due to a $500 grant we received from 4Imprint.com’s One By One Program! What a wonderful program they have for nonprofits like BSTRA. It went a long way to make the shirts affordable for us. With safety in mind, we also had the Safety Signs available for pre-order. If you would like one to help educate drivers in your area, you can order one for $25 at www.bstra.org/support/sign-fundraiser -- they will be available for pick up at our Tack Sale in Grafton on August 21st.So thanks to everyone who came out to this event to help us celebrate trails and raise money to support the trails we love. It was a fun way to celebrate the importance of our trail system! ... See MoreSee Less

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Bay State Trail Riders Association

5 days ago

Our deadline was yesterday for pre-registration for our National Trails Day Fundraiser Ride this Sunday at Hodges Village Dam, but we hope you come join all the fun and show your support of trails as a Post Entry. Weather looks like it will be beautiful, and the trails and festivities will be awesome!Now that we have a firm number for lunch, the Fundraising Committee and friends have been busy buying groceries and cooking up a delicious Italian lunch. We hope you come out and enjoy this very special day that is all about the importance of trails for our equestrian and other outdoor forms of recreation. ... See MoreSee Less

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Bay State Trail Riders Association

6 days ago

We have another fantastic National Trails Day Raffle at this Sunday's Ride! -- More than $4,000 in Prizes!!! Come prepared to buy your tickets and hopefully go home with some great items! Tickets are priced at 10 tickets for $10 or 25 tickets for each $20 you spend!! ... See MoreSee Less

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