(Nickerson State Park)
Hike Type: Loop
Distance: 3.12 miles
Elevation: 174 feet
Time: 1 hour, 13 minutes minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge
The Hike
And just like that, less than 24 hours, I was back at Nickerson State Park! I brought some friends this time, too. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, it was in the mid 40s, and off we went! We followed the same path that I did the previous day, across the sandy trail to the split. At the trail split, we turned right to follow the trail around Cliff Pond. The trail was consistently beautiful, alternating between woods, shoreline, and beach hiking. There were occasionally side trails to different camping areas, but it was always clear where to go.
The trail climbed a little bit on the western side of the pond, which had lovely seasonal views through the trees. We eventually made it to a parking lot/boat launch site, almost directly across the pond from the parking lot. From here we made the mistake of hiking toward camping Area 4 instead of staying on the shoreline. We didn’t realize we made this mistake until we were all out of breath gaining more elevation than anticipated… whoops! At Area 4 we got to see some lovely campsites, a kiosk describing the CCC work in the park decades ago, and a small history lesson of a date two of our friends went on in a Yurt here that went poorly (mostly due to bugs).
Eventually, we found the trail back to the Cliff Pond trail, and continued our adventure! The last section of our hike was beautiful and close to the shoreline, and at one point crossing a swimming beach. There was one section of trail that was eroded away, so we made the decision to stay on the shoreline for the remainder of the hike. Even though it was chilly outside, we were all warm at this point (temperatures were in the 50s), and the beautiful clear water was incredibly inviting. Thankfully, no one caved and we all stayed dry. We were soon back at the car and heading back to the AirBnb for lunch!
“Cliff Pond” from Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
“Cliff Pond is a 206-acre natural kettlehole pond with a maximum depth of 96 feet and an average depth of 33 feet. The pond gets its name from the cliffs surrounding the pond. Transparency is exceptional, extending to 23 feet, and aquatic vegetation is scant. The 2.6 miles of shoreline are undeveloped and and protected within Nickerson State Park. The pond is heavily used by boaters during the summer months. The bottom is primarily sand with mud in the deeper areas.”
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