Skyline Loop via Trailside Museum (Blue Hills Reservation)

Skyline Loop via Trailside Museum (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 4.31 miles

Elevation: 1184 feet

Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Great Blue Hill Summits; Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

Time for a warm, cloudy Skyline Loop! Plus, a last hike of March, which turned out to be my most-hiked month ever with 17 days in the woods! (My previous record was 16 made this past June, followed by a few other months in the past where I hit 16 hikes, but some days had multiple hikes). Big Blue was in a cloud when I was driving on I-93, and I was delighted to see only a few cars at the trailhead when I landed. It smelled wet, like springtime, and I realized that I forgot my Nalgene and only had some old, stale water left in a smart water bottle... oops. It was 57 degrees, the skies were gloomy, and I was off!

There was one duo ahead of my on the Eliot Path, but they went up the easier way, leaving the whole way up to myself. The rocks were wet which required some careful/slippery footing, but nothing too bad. It was foggy and spooky up top, which was kind of fun, and the top of the communications antenna was barely visible. I also noticed an absurd amount of orange peels around the Eliot Tower?

Continuing on the loop, I admired the deer tracks at the base of the Wolcott climb and caught up with the duo from earlier, passing them as I entered Downtown Crossing. The antenna was still in a cloud when I made it to the viewpoint from Hemenway, and when on Hancock I hit the clockwise portion of the Circle Trail before continuing down the slippy rocks. 

I made use of the porta potty (I'm glad I've reprogrammed my bladder to not need to go that bad until I get to a porta potty, versus having to dodge into the woods and hope no one is around). At the base of Houghton I saw some of the first purple flowers of the year (lesser periwinkles, I believe). I swore my way up Houghton and suffered from wobbly legs on the way back down to the col. My internal playlist at this point was a wild mashup of "I Want Candy" by Aaron Carter and "RÓA" by VÆB for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest (it slaps, highly recommend). 

I heard some peepers in the swamp near the headwall, cursed my way up again, and hit my second summit! The clouds lifted slightly, and I was delighted at how people-free this hike was. Naturally, I wrote that note and passed a woman I had seen before on a previous hike, did the usual "hey hows it going," and she gave me a "GOD LOVES YOU" pamphlet... I felt a bit bamboozled and trapped, and I also had to hold onto it because I wasn't about to leave a trace! Cruel. 

 

Step-by-Step

- Start hike from Trailside Museum parking on Eliot Path (red dots).

- At terminus, turn right onto Eliot Circle. 

- At next jct., turn left onto Summit Road.

- At next jct., turn right onto spur trail to Summit.

- Descend summit towards Skyline Trail South.

- Turn left onto Skyline Trail, and then right onto Skyline Trail North.

- Follow Skyline Trail North to Circle Trail jct. after Hancock Hill Summit.

- Turn left onto Circle Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Skyline Trail, follow to Hillside St.

- At Hillside St., turn right onto Hillside St.

- After stables, turn right onto Skyline Trail South.

- Follow Skyline Trail South to Eliot Circle.

- At jct., turn right to summit Great Blue Hill.

- Retrace steps to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album