Bellevue Pond, Wright's Tower, and Others Loop (Middlesex Fells Reservation)

Bellevue Pond, Wright's Tower, and Others Loop (Middlesex Fells Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 4.04 miles

Elevation: 427 feet

Time: 1 hour, 23 minutes (1 hour, 18 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: Middlesex Fells Reservation Tracing, 52 Hike Challenge 2025

The Hike 

A tell-tale sign that it's officially the "dark times" (i.e., after daylight savings time) is that I'm hiking in the Middlesex Fells again! My only goal was to see the view from Wright's Tower and meander on trails that I think I haven't hit before. It was 49 degrees, windy, and mostly cloudy, but overall pretty pleasant. I started my hike from Bellevue Pond, per usual, and hit St. Denis Road and the spur path off of it to get started. It was nice and quiet in the woods.

I was here in between school getting out and parent-teacher conferences - I didn't realize how badly I needed this time in the woods! I had really lost the after-school hiking this year (which happens every year, in fairness) due to dating, marching band, and overall exhaustion. Bellevue Pond was essentially a marsh, which I'm guessing is due to overall low water levels plus summer? I passed a bunch of massive squirrels and one well-behaved off-leash dog as I climbed to Wright's Tower, which per usual had just a wonderful view. 

I ended up doing my best to connect unblazed paths that I thought I still needed - only tough part was that there were MANY criss-crossing unmapped paths I had to navigate around, too. I did my best to stay on-track with moderate success!

Once back at Bellevue Pond, I went back up to the tower and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The clouds parted just enough for the sun to shine through, and it made my body feel very happy. I really needed this!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Bellevue Pond.

- Start hike on Quarry Road.

- At D6-5 turn right onto St. Denis Road.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At unsigned jct., turn left onto spur.

- At South Border Road, turn around.

- At St. Denis Road, turn left.

- At D6-5, turn right onto Quarry Road.

- Near Wright's Tower Road, hike short trails there and then climb to Wright's Tower.

- At Wright's Tower, follow Skyline Trail toward D6-1.

- At D6-1, turn right onto Quarry Road.

- At D5-7, turn left onto trail.

- At D5-6, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- Before C5-21, turn left onto trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Red Cross Path.

- At C5-25, turn right onto trail.

- At C5-17, turn left onto Cross-Fells Path.

- At C5-16, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At C5-24, turn right onto trail.

- At C5-23, continue on trail.

- At C5-22, turn left onto road.

- At C6-1, turn right onto trail.

- At South Border Road, follow trail on left, accidentally following a northern unmapped trail.

- At Middle Road, continue onto trail to Bellevue Pond.

- At Bellevue Pond, turn left.

- At C6-9, continue around Bellevue Pond.

- At D6-3, turn right onto Quarry Road.

- Before D6-5, turn left to climb to Wright's Tower.

- Enjoy the sunset.

- Descend via Skyline Trail to D6-2.

- At D6-2, turn left onto Quarry Road.

- At D6-3, turn right onto road.

- At C6-9, turn left onto road to car.

Middlesex Fells Reservation Map

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