After more than three years of planning and construction, the Housatonic Riverfront Trail in Great Barrington is finally open to the public.

Janice Kabel, President of the Great Barrington Land Conservancy, said, "The vision was to extend the Housatonic River Walk southward, all the way to Brookside Road, and we've accomplished a good deal of that."

The trail has two sections, totaling about two-thirds of a mile and offers previously inaccessible views of the river and the Dewey Academy castle.

In addition to recreation, Kabel says the trail creates new opportunities for conservation efforts as well.

"One of our first efforts will be the abatement of invasive species on both sections. We also want to work toward improving the health of trees along the trail," Kabel said.

Construction involved clearing out thick underbrush, re-building a stone storm culvert, and building a new footbridge.

The trail just opened last week and Kabel says they've already received a lot of good feedback.

"We've had a wonderfully positive response from the community," Kabel said. "Congratulations, donations, people coming on to our website and volunteering to help us maintain the trail."

Kabel says maintaining the trail is one of their top priorities, but there are already plans to extend it even further next year. "We have a design ready to go for expansion of this section of the trail through Olympian Meadows. The town of Great Barrington will be in the spring, in collaboration with the Land Conservancy."