Fowl Meadow (Blue Hills Reservation)

Fowl Meadow (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop & Spaghetti

Distance: 8.63 miles

Elevation: 226 feet

Time: 2 hours, 59  minutes 
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge, Blue Hills 125 Mile Club

The Hike

A beautiful day with a light chill to the air, just under 50 degrees with plenty of sunshine, it was finally time to head back to Fowl Meadow and tackle the Indian Path! The parking lot displayed faint spring colors, which truly just made me eager for green, and I spent the beginning portion of my adventure reminding myself to have an open mind - the best case is that I get all of Fowl Meadow in one swoop, but also any day out in the woods is a good day. I was surprised to see so many cars at the parking lot, but then I noticed there was a soccer game going on across the street, so I think a few people were over there. I also applied my first coating of bug spray for the year! Thankfully either it worked well or there weren't any bugs out.

I wandered around the small trails near the parking area before starting my hike down Burma Road, where the birds were abundant and singing loudly! The weather had been pretty dry for the past few days, and the trail reflected that, which made me hopeful for easy water crossings! The beauty of Burma Road was only broken by two unleashed dogs running up to me at two separate times... why can't people either train their dogs or leash them?

I am always in awe of the tall trees along the Fowl Meadow Path - feels almost like being back in time? I also always find humor that intersection 6009 isn't on the map, but that's just the child in me. I hiked that weird spur and continued on until I hit the Neponset River, and then started the schlep down Indian Path!

I was delighted to see that the first crossing was low and only had a few inches of standing water. The thousand sticks someone laid over this crossing might be helpful? If anything it just confused me - I tried to see which sections looked the strongest and shimmied my way across. The trail itself is actually quite nice - a little claustrophobic, but very scenic as it winds along the riverbank. The winding is occasionally interrupted by a high water outlet/inlet - I ended up counting ~12, and all were bone dry except for the first! There were two tricky blowdowns, the first was an "under" and the second an "over." The back half of the trail had a few eroded sections along the steep banks, but the ground felt solid. An piece or orange flagging tape marks where the trail veers back towards Burma Road (the Indian Path unofficially continues on, but I was on a mission!), and I was delighted to 1) check Indian Path off my list again and 2) escape the subtle claustrophobia of plants tickling my ankles!

I hiked to the end of Burma and then worked my way back toward the Fowl Meadow Path. The fleece came off here, but the wind was still chilly. I really apprecaited how the scenery continually changed along the road, and I saw my first snake of the season! Now onto the eastern side of Burma Road, I was delighted to see that the Swamp Trail was passable, and only a little prickly. The pollening was DEFINITELY getting started as the trees continued to bud and slowly add color back onto their branches. I was blown away by how many birds there were! I really wish that I had brought my zoom lens with me. 

The next and final main challenge was the Field Path... I'm really not sure why it's still even considered a trail. There were lots of bugs at ground level, but they never bothered me thankfully. I am forever grateful for the person who put the flagging tape along the Field Path - it's an awful trail, but now easier to follow! Just after passing under an old, large blowdown (like a tunnel), there are some old items (large barrel?) that I'm curious as to how they got there... maybe remnants of planned highway construction? Maybe someday I'll retire and write a book about Blue Hills curios. 

More fascinating, are the piles of garbage at the actual abandoned highway exit. There is a couch that has seen much better days off to the side, piles of ripped up concrete (why did they bother ripping up only some of the concrete? Maybe property reasons?), and a nice pile of old flooring with a few appliances. What? Interesting, nonetheless.

Now back into the woods, I found myself wishing there was a "Welcome to the Skyline Trail" sign, or something. The beginning feels very lackluster, and maybe that's just becasue of its inaccessibility, but I would still appreciate it! There is a very small cairn, at least. The first blaze is a little ways along the trail, and the trail in this area is pretty nasty with highway litter and runoff. Further in the woods, there is an impressive stone wall that acts as an intersection marker for the footpath to the end of Royall Street, the unnamed trail to Royall Street, the Skyline Trail toward Green Street, and an unmapped trail back toward Fowl Meadow (I think this used to connect to Orchard Trail, but not sure. 

Once I hit Green Street, I turned around and started the slog back to the car! I followed the Orchard Trail, hit the spur at 6106, and followed the unmapped trail that bypasses the Swamp Trail. Using the Seek app, I learned that the super sharp prickers that are now blooming are Japanese Barberries - evil! My feet were starting to get mad at me toward the end of this suprisingly successful hike. I only passed a few people on my exit via Burma Road, and almost forgot to get the spur toward the trailhead! That would have been a bummer. Fowl Meadow: complete!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Burma Road.

- Hike trails around trailhead, including flooded path of Burma Road.

- Hike Burma Road.

- At 6005, turn right onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At 6009 (not on map), turn left onto trail.

- Where path begins to fizzle out, turn around.

- At 6009, turn left onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Indian Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Burma Road.

- At terminus, turn around and hike Burma Road.

- At 6005, turn right onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At next jct., turn right onto Swamp Trail.

- At 6105, turn onto Green Hill Path.

- At 6103, veer right onto Field Path.

- At 6102, turn left onto Green Hill Path.

- At 6103, turn around. 

- At 6101, continue onto abandoned road, always veering left.

- Continue onto Skyline Trail.

- At 6600, turn around.

- At stone wall, turn left to hike spur to Royall St., turn around.

- At stone wall, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At terminus, continue  to retrace steps on abandoned road. 

- At 6101, continue into woods.

- At 6102, turn right onto Orchard Trail. 

- At 6104, continue right onto Green Hill Path.

- At 6106, turn right to hike trail.

- When close to back yards, turn around.

- At 6106, turn right onto Green Hill Path.

- At green trail marker, continue on path.

- At next junction, turn left onto continuation of Fowl Meadow Path.

- Continue straight onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At 6005, turn right onto Burma Road, hike to car (hit spur to Brush Hill Road).

Blue Hills Reservation Map

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