Chickatawbut Hill, Great Cedar Swamp (Blue Hills Reservation)

Chickatawbut Hill, Great Cedar Swamp (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Blue Hills Loop
Distance: 5.77 miles
Elevation: 761 feet
Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes 
Hiking Challenges: Blue Hills 125-Mile Challenge (2x); 52 Hike Challenge

The Hike

Continuing my concentrated exploration of the Chickatawbut Hill Area, today’s goal was the northern side of the hill and the infamous Great Cedar Swamp! I parked at the junction of MA-28 and Chickatawbut Hill (Braintree Pass Path Trailhead), and quickly got going! I started along the Braintree Pass Path before taking the Thayer Path up Chickatawbut Hill, which is a nice quiet ascent. I couldn’t get over how green everything was since my last hike a week ago! With that… though… comes… the pollen. Oof. 

Thayer Path opens up to a meadow-y area where there were dozens of chirping insects, and I caught myself in a constant high-step due to my crippling fear of ticks. Thankfully I only saw one, and it was on a blade of grass, not me, thank goodness. My eyes were crying with the thick pollen granules, and I made my way down to the Sassaman Notch Path and the Tower Path. 

I’m curious of the history of the Chickatawbut Tower - mostly why it’s closed? To avoid riffraff? The same reason Chickatawbut Road is closed at night? Not sure, but definitely curious! Maybe once the view grew over they left it abandoned? Who knows? 

I continued to meander my way up the side of Nahanton Hill, which is a nice off-the-beaten-path trail. I then followed Skyline to Kitchamakin Hill, which brought me to the Great Dome Foot Path. I really love this section of trail, but I do wish it was a little more clear where to go! There’s an occasional mysterious yellow dot, and a couple small cairns in the open area, but it’s super unclear. A beautiful trail, nonetheless. There is a great view just before the steep descent, and the spring greens were contrasting beautifully with the evergreens. 

Now back down in the woods, I couldn’t get over how many leaves there were! I truly felt like I was in the jungle, and counting every blessing because I was sure that I would soon perish at the hands of pollen. Going clockwise around the swamp, I admired the Hemlock Bound and all of the songbirds singing their tunes before risking my life paralleling I-93 to get around the swamp. Thank goodness the fence is cut here or I would have had to go swimming. There was a beautiful film of pollen on all standing water in the swamp, which was truly the icing on the cake. 

The spooky talkative bridge along the Cochato Path was still spooky and talkative, and I made my way back to the Great Dome Foot Path along the Laurel Trail, which was just as pretty as it always is. The Great Dome Foot Path was significantly drier than it was a couple weeks ago, which makes sense due to the lack of rain. The brook bed was very muddy with just small streams flowing over. 

I meandered my way back to the car, hitting a few small spots I still needed. When I was unpacking my stuff and getting ready to head home I couldn’t help but notice how dusty my black shorts were… it was a film of yellow pollen. I then unstrapped my camera to find that it was also coated in pollen. Please rain soon!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Braintree Pass Path Trailhead.

- Start hike along Braintree Pass Path.

- Just before 3022, turn left onto Thayer Path.

- After crossing road, hike both northern forks of Thayer Path, and then follow left onto Sassaman Notch Path.

- At Chickatawbut Road, turn around. 

- At 3075, turn left onto Tower Path.

- At tower, hike to road, turn around, and then follow Tower Path to 3130, making sure not to miss the spur at the split.

- At 3130, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- Follow Skyline Trail to Kitchamakin Hill, then turn left onto Great Dome Foot Path. 

- At 3085, turn left onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- At 3125, turn around and veer left onto Hemlock Path.

- At terminus, continue right onto Cochato Path.

- At terminus, continue right onto Laurel Path.

- At 3111, turn left onto Great Dome Foot Path.

- At 3085, turn left onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- At 3051, veer left to continue on Bouncing Brook Path.

- At immediate next junction, turn left onto Braintree Pass Path.

- Take next left onto unnamed trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- At 3051, continue straight/right onto Braintree Pass Path, follow to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album