The Waterford Foundation was awarded a grant in FY1991 by the National Endow­ment for the Arts (NEA) specifically for the purpose of planning and designing walking trails through the Waterford National His­toric Landmark. The purpose of the pro­posed walking trail system is to make the Landmark more accessible to the public and to aid in interpreting the history of the 1,420 - acre landscape which comprises the Land­mark.

The design (and future development) of the walking paths is one strategy for gaining public support for the preservation of the Landmark. By making the surrounding his­toric landscape more accessible to the pub­lic without destroying the qualities which make Waterford attractive and historically significant, it is hoped that both the residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the Landmark. Developing a trail system is a delicate charge, since nearly all the land within the Landmark is privately owned. For this reason, the trail system has been de­veloped to minimize the impact of visitors on local residents and their property. Imple­mentation of the trail system relies on the voluntary granting of access easements by landowners for public use. 

There are three major areas of focus which this grant has made possible: the ac­tual lay-out of a proposed trail system throughout the Waterford Landmark, the de­sign and locations of appropriate trail sign­age, and the legal framework whereby access easements may be obtained with the cooperation of those private property own­ers adjacent to the proposed trail system.