Oversized shears and a red ribbon typically usher in the grand opening of a new establishment. But, during the opening of a new land reserve in Dartmouth, the tradition traded out the ribbon and shears with a sturdy twig and golden loppers.

The Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust officially opened its newest reserve, called Paskamansett Woods, on Oct. 12. After Executive Director Dexter Mead snapped the ceremonial branch, staffers from the land trust brought a crowd of more than 100 through the woods for a tour of the property.

The long line of hikers snaked their way down a winding path, past a vernal pool and over a stone bridge with more than 150 years of history. The trail system takes hikers from Chase Road over the Paskamansett River. The reserve abuts Gidley Woods, which the public can access, allowing hikers passage all the way to Tucker Road.

“It is our 54th reserve in Dartmouth and our 14th with a full trail system,” said Mead.

The land was set aside by a developer who’s building houses on the northwest end of the reserve. The trust acquired the property earlier this year.

“[The developer] set aside about 11 acres that would be untouched as open space. We worked with the developer, the former Town Planner, Donald Perry, and the Planning Board to put this together,” said Mead.

One of the more noteworthy stops on the trail is a stone bridge, which was restored about a decade ago with Dartmouth Community Preservation Act funding.

“That bridge was on the Old King’s Highway that went from Plymouth down to Newport, and it came right through this property and over the bridge,” said Mead. “Benjamin Tucker, who owned this property in the 1800s, actually built the stone bridge.”

Land Manager Linda Vanderveer said the trust had a lot of help preparing the trail for its grand opening, including help from two Boy Scouts. David Hughes of Troop 70 built a split-rail fence and an information kiosk at the trailhead on Chase Road.

Ryan Giroux, a 16-year-old from Troop 170, built a fence that runs along the reserve’s parking lot.

“Ms. Vanderveer needed a fence. It was originally going to be 90 feet. It ended up being 180. The goal of the fence is to mark off public and private land as well as making parking easier,” said Giroux.

He said he’s never tried his hand at construction before and ran into some issues early on with measurements. After some corrections, the fence was ready for opening day. The project took him about 96 hours to complete, most of which he did by himself. He said he did have periodic assistance throughout the process.

“Every Monday, we have our Scout meetings. One of those Mondays was dedicated to starting this project. A couple kids helped me for two hours,” he said.

Vanderveer led the group of hikers through the woods during the opening tour, and pointed out the finer points of the environment. She said the reserve is primarily a pine upland with sandy soil and has some sloping hills because the area was mined for sand and gravel.

She said that, when creating a trail for a nature reserve, the idea is to showcase some interesting features on the property.

“One thing we have to do is pick the line of the trail,” said Vanderveer. “You have to incorporate the topography. You don’t want to send people over too many steep hills, or, if you do, you’ll have to alter your trail construction. You want to make sure you showcase the best of what you have.”

Creating the trail involved sending out volunteers with weed whackers and rakes. Eventually, she said, foot traffic will impede on the forest’s understory from growing over the trail.

She also reminded hikers of the importance of keeping the area clean.

“[The Paskamansett River] starts by the New Bedford Airport. It drains about 80 percent of the freshwater that goes into the Slocum’s River,” she said. “Water coming into this river is dumping into the Slocum’s River, which is dumping into Buzzards Bay. So know your watershed.”

The parking lot for Paskamansett Woods is located on Chase Road, directly across from Gene Street. For more information, visit dnrt.org.