Great Blue Hill via Chickadee & Wildcat Notch (Blue Hills Reservation)

Great Blue Hill via Chickadee & Wildcat Notch (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Figure-8-ish Loop

Distance: 2.47 miles

Elevation: 469 feet

Time: 1 hour, 4 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Blue Hills Winter Trace (2x); Great Blue Hill Summits

The Hike

I had a shockingly easy after-school drive and landed at the parking lot around 3:20pm and was in the woods at 3:30! It snowed a couple of inches overnight, but high temps in the mid-40s made trail conditions a slushy mess. I started by hiking from the north Trailside Museum parking lot up toward the water tower, and I passed by a massive pileated woodpecker!

I turned onto the Summit Road and then onto the Chickadee Path at 1072. There's an additional footpath off of this junction that hasn't been on any recent maps and is posted as "closed" by DCR (and apparently has been closed for quite some time, becuase there's a smaller closed plackard ~10 feet away by the MDC). 

Descending on Chickadee Path, it was slippery, but I don't think spikes would have been helpful due to the thin cover. The Wolcott Path was basically an ice rink under a couple inches of slush, and Wildcat Notch Path was about the same. I was nervous about ascending via Skyline Trail, but it was more or less covered in rotting boilerplate slush, which worked! I was VERY glad I had waterproof boots on, though. I also have come to the conclusion that the north spur is the easier way up Great Blue Hill - I was feeling fine after that climb (in fairness, I usually tackle the south climb at the end of a loop, so that could be a factor, too). 

I made it to the summit and was greeted by the sound of highway, sirens, and helicopters - classic Blue Hills! I also realized that I had been hiking the past two days with the side zipper of my pack FULLY undone... oops!

At this point, I had planned to hike down Eliot Path, up Eliot Path, and then down Raccoon Hollow/Summit Road, but trail conditions on Eliot were BRUTAL. A mixture of snow, ice, slush, water, and everything else imaginable. It made what was usually a quick descent into a very slow, tedious one. I was very comfortable calling my hike a little early to not have to deal with that again!

This was further validated when I became paralyzing hungry once near the parking lot. I hiked one more spur that I needed to the Summit Road and then returned along the footpath paralleling the main road. Off to Costco and Stop & Shop!

Step-by-Step

- Park at north Trailside Museum parking lot.

- Start hike on Wolcott Path (green blazes). 

- At split, continue straight/veer right up to Summit Road. 

- Turn right onto Summit Road.

- At 1072, turn left onto Chickadee Path.

- At 1085, turn right onto Wolcott Path (green blazes).

- At 1100, continue right on Wolcott Path (not blazed).

- At jct., veer right toward Wildcat Notch Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Wildcat Notch Path.

- At 1092, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- At 1063, turn left onto Eliot Circle and follow paths to summit.

- From summit, follow spur to Summit Road.

- At jct., turn right onto Eliot Circle.

- At 1055, turn left onto Eliot Path.

- At jct., turn right and follow footpath around Trailside Museum.

- At jct. with Wolcott Path, continue straight/left to follow spur to Summit Road.

- Turn left onto Summit Road.

- Turn left onto flat path back to parking lot.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album