Skyline Loop via Trailside Musuem (w/ Summit Road) (Blue Hills Reservation)
Hike Type: Lollipop-ish Loop
Distance: 4.40 miles
Elevation: 1181 feet
Time: 1 hour, 49 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Great Blue Hill Summits
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Great Blue Hill Summits
The Hike
My original plan for this hike was to hit up Hawk Hill on the Chickatawbut side of the park, but Sarah texted me in the morning asking if I wanted to join her on the Skyline Loop, so I pivoted my plans to making a quick return trip! My knee was still a little wonky from yesterday's hike, so I went in with a "listen to your knee and slow down" mindset. Thankfully, yapping while hiking also slows me down!
Sarah and I met at the Trailside Museum/Ski Area parking lot at 3:30pm and got right to it! It was a warm 48 degrees with some wind and occasional sun through the clouds. Trail conditions were MUCH different than yesterday! Instead of boilerplate ice, it was more of slippery slush. We avoided the worst parts on the Eliot Path by following a footpath through the woods and following the Summit Road to the top, which was a solid move. From our first summit, we followed Eliot Circle/Skyline to the Eliot Tower and then worked our way down towards Wolcott, which was mostly ice-free and now a bit muddy.
There was some more ice coming down Wolcott and the only dense spot of ice was at Downtown Crossing before Hemenway, but we were able to walk like penguins and avoid putting spikes on. As per usual, we were chatting about skiing and hiking - we were/are eyeballing Carter Dome for this weekend, but weather is looking gnarly. TBD.
We hit the nice view at Hemenway and continued onto Hancock, which was the muddiest of all. The walk on Hillside Street was windy and chilly, but we quickly warmed back up once climbing up Houghton Hill. With the snowmelt, the "burned wood" smell from the fire was back, which was surprising. We made our way up and continued down to cross the two streams and then finally to climb back up Great Blue Hill! We had to follow the trail in the woods at the stone steps like yesterday because of the ice flow, but the scramble was much easier today, along with the final push to the top.
At the top, we noticed a little bit of sunset color through the clouds - is it possible we might catch the sunset? We had about 10 minutes before it set, so we scurried over to the overlooks on the Skyline Trail above MA-138 to check it out. Through a sliver of clouds just as tall as the sun itself, the massive orange orb appeared! We got a delightful show to wrap up our hike. It was chilly up top, so once it had fully set we got a move on and followed the Summit Road to Eliot Path again.
Step-by-Step
- Start hike from Trailside Museum parking on Eliot Path (red dots).
- At summit road, turn right onto Summit Road.
- Follow Summit Road 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 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.
- At summit, follow path past birdhouses to Skyline Trail.
- Watch sunset from Skyline Trail.
- Turn around, and then turn left onto Eliot Circle.
- At Summit Road, turn left onto Summit Road.
- At 1051, turn left onto Eliot Path.
- Return to car.
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