Nobscot Hill Fire Tower via Monson Trail (2x) (Nobscot Scout Reservation)

Nobscot Hill Fire Tower via Monson Trail (2x) (Nobscot Scout Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Concentric Circle Double Loop

Distance: 3.05 miles

Elevation: 761 feet

Time: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Massachusetts Fire Tower Challenge 11; Massachusetts Fire Tower Challenge 45; Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge

The Hike

Time for something different! I'm having a great hiking streak right now: 5/5 days in March! For this after-school hike, instead of going to the Blue Hills, I went out to Sudbury and the Nobscot Scout Reservation to knock off another Massachusetts Fire Tower (I'm so glad this list exists). The drive out was super easy and parking felt wrong even though it was right! It was WARM out - 56 degrees with overcast skies and some wind. I tragically forgot to bring shorts, but thankfully I'd been lazy all week and had sweatpants on. The t-shirt was in!

The hike started by following the road around the Monson Trail, through the pavillion, and onto the winding road. The road was mostly frozen with muddy ruts where ATVs have driven through. I was flirting with extending my hike over to Tippling Rock, but didn't have enough info on distance, so I'd pin that for another day. I took my spikes off and on a few times as I meandered on road grades up Monson, and then briefly on White Ridge Trail, which linked just after passing a cabin. 

I turned left onto the Hillard Trail at a stream and began an icy, slushy, muddy, wet, eroded, steep climb. Spikes were off for this bit as I navigated the comically squishy terrain. At the next junction, I turned onto the much wider Pierce Trail, which started off as wide and muddy but became frozen again after turning a corner. My legs felt a cool breeze while my upper body felt a warm breeze, which was very interesting. The tower was now in sight!

...or so I thought. Turns out there's a bunch of towers on Nobscot Hill, some of which are square on the top and some are tall communication towers. The Pierce Trail terminated at a communication tower/square topped tower, I took my spikes off again, and then followed the gravel road uphill to the summit and the Fire Tower! It was gated off, so no public access, but I got my photo, and after some exploring, I found a UGSG disc! Yay!

From here, I descended on the Bay Circuit Trail (two entrances from the tower, I took the right one), which coincides with the Tower Trail for a bit. The trail comes to a ledge that's view was mostly overgrown, and then descends on a muddy, narrow trail that skirts the hillside. I decided to just keep my spikes on for the rest of the hike at this point, regardless of conditions. I also hiked past what I assume was an exploded bird? Small feathers EVERYWHERE.

Down on the valley floor, I decided to extend the hike and head up again. This time, I turned onto the White Ridge Trail, that followed a road grade through lovely, open forests, and paralleled an old stone wall. I went past another cabin and then came up to an abandoned cabin that looks like it was crushed by a tree some time ago. At the abandoned cabin, I turned onto Jethro Trail, which would follow more road grade back to the Monson Trail (and it went past a surprive privy and some shelters, how fun!). 

Back on the Monson Trail I meandered back to the Hillard Trail, now with some blue skies above! I continued on Hillard past the Pierce junction, and the new stretch of Hillard was a continuation of the first bit, steep, eroded, muddy, frozen, and slushy, but now steeper! It got a little sketchy at times, but my spikes did their jobs. I felt like this stretch was my pennance for skipping leg day this morning (I skipped it because of my tweaked knee, in fairness). The Bay Circuit Trail joins higher up, and then I was back at the fire tower!

The skies were super pretty overhead now and the sun was trying to poke through the rest of the clouds - I do kind of wish I went over the Tipplin Rock, but I'm not sure I would have had enough daylight to do it all. I followed the Tower Trail down again, and I just barely could make out the Boston skyline from the ledge this time. I continued straight where I turned onto the White Ridge Trail earlier into some darker woods, past some campsites and another privy. 

I completed the Jethro Trail and made it onto the EllisLand Trail, where I followed some deer tracks in the deep mud and some ATV tracks too. The trail took me through the Explore Alley campsite and eventually back onto the Monson Trail! I reflected for a bit about how much I hated Boy Scouts when I was a kid and how funny it is that I'm now outdoors multiple days a week - I think a lot of it was I was lazy but more of it was just the masculine culture around all of it. I'm happy I'm where I'm at now! To no surprise, this was another lovely after school hike.

Step-by-Step

- Park at Day & Visitor Parking at Nobscot Scout Reservation.

- Start hike on Monson Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto White Ridge Trail.

- At next jct., turn left onto Hillard Trail.

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

- At terminus, follow gravel road to summit/fire tower.

- From fire tower, descend on Tower Trail/Bay Circuit Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto White Ridge Trail.

- At second jct., turn right onto Jethro Trail around abandoned cabin.

- At terminus, turn left onto Monson Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto White Ridge Trail.

- At next jct., turn left onto Hillard Trail.

- Follow Hillard Trail to summit/fire tower.

- From fire tower, descend on Tower Trail/Bay Circuit Trail.

- At jct. with White Ridge Trail, continue straight on Tower Trail.

- At jct. with Jethro Trail, continue left on road grade on Jethro Trail.

- At later jct., continue left onto EllisLand Trail.

- At terminus, continue right onto Monson Trail.

- Follow Monson Trail back to car.

Map of Nobscot Scout Reservation

Photo Album