Houghton's Pond & Breeze Hill Loop (Blue Hills Reservation)

Houghton's Pond & Breeze Hill Loop (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Figure-8 Loop

Distance: 2.82 miles

Elevation: 138 feet

Time: 52 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2025; Blue Hills Winter Trace (2x)

The Hike

First hike of 2025! I woke up feeling... not great on New Year's Day, which made sense, but it turned out I was actually medium sick. My only goal for the day was to get outside and move my body, so I set my sights on Houghton's Pond. It was 34 degrees, partly cloudy, and slightly breezy. The first thing I noticed was the fire damage on the Great Blue Hill side of Hillside Street - I completely forgot about the fire! Many trees have since been cut down, I assume to prevent blowdowns in the road. 

I started the hike by following the footpath/sidewalk alongside Hillside Street, eventually turning onto Nursery Trail. Once on the loop around Houghton's Pond, I noticed some new yellow triangle blazes stapled to trees along this route. Maybe they're redoing the yellow circles? Maybe a new map will be coming out soon?

I hiked the spur paths to Old 128, admiring the very trace amounts of snow that were left. There were occasional moments of sunshine, but the clouds dominated the sky. I continued to follow the yellow blazes and then started a secondary loop around breeze hill - first along the gravel road and then on the paved path. At the height of land, where the green circles usually pick up, stapled green triangles now appeared! Exciting!

I wasn't feeling great, but the cool, fresh air did feel good. I saw some new red triangles, too, and continued back to Houghton's Pond. I passed a man with his dog and got a boisterous "HAPPY NEW YEAR!," which was kind. 

I wrapped up my hike by following a path to the shoreline and then walking the boardwalk along Marigold Marsh back to the parking lot - it was nice to see water back in the marsh! It was also fun to learn that its called Marigold Marsh (via signage). A nice, easy first hike of the year!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Houghton's Pond Lot A.

- Start hike on path along Hillside Street.

- At corner of Blue Hill River Rd. & Hillside Street, turn left. 

- Turn left again onto Nursery Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Prescott Foot Path (yellow blazes).

- Turn left to hike spur to Old Route 128.

- At terminus, turn left onto Old Route 128.

- At next jct., turn left onto spur path back to Prescott Foot Path (yellow blazes).

- At terminus, turn right onto Prescott Foot Path (yellow blazes).

- Follow yellow blazes until jct. before bathhouse, veer right.

- Hike around Breeze Hill clockwise, eventually following green blazes.

- Follow green blazes to boardwalk behind visitor center.

- Follow boardwalk back to parking lot.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album