Chickatawbut Skyline, Bouncing Brook, Laurel, & Braintree Pass Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)
Hike Type: Loop
Distance: 4.92 miles
Elevation: 302 feet
Time: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; 52 Hike Challenge 2026
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; 52 Hike Challenge 2026
The Hike
Another medium-slow drive after work to the Blue Hills! I'm realizing that past-me left all the trails I don't really care for (i.e., always flooded) for future me, and unfortunately future me is the current me! I wanted to get Fowl Meadow out of the way before it really grows in and the ticks pop off, but thanks to a post in the 125-Mile Club on Facebook I was able to check the gauge for the Neponset River and it confirmed that a lot of it would be flooded, so I guess it'll become a later problem... Anyway, I decided I'd get the few hanging chads I had around the Ponkapoag Loop instead!
I parked at Exit 3 and hiked past the new kiosk at the Ponkapoag Trail, soon turning onto the Hogdon Foot Path, which looked like it's been lightly traveled in recent months. I was hyper-aware of any taller vegetation after Monday's tick, but thankfully I would remain unscathed. The sun felt amazing once on Redman Farm Path (still curious if that's a racist name or not) as I walked along the very full Ponkapoag Pond Bog. There was a horse ahead of me and some VERY fresh poop, but thankfully we never formally crossed paths as it turned around at the bus turn around. I did check the entrance to the Boardwak, which had multiple closed signs and was clearly flooded by the second board. I wonder 1) when they'll fix the boardwalk and 2) what the new one will look like!
I almost crossed paths with another horse, but I was booking it to stay ahead. I hiked along the golf course which was looking spectacularly green and enjoyed the beautiful view from the dam. I passed a couple and their rambunctious off-leash dogs (apparently a dog recently attacked someone in the Blue Hills and they stabbed it??) and then I took the spur paths to and from the golf course for a mini-loop. Unfortunately, I had to pass the couple and their dogs again, but they had put the leashes back on the dogs, assumedly because there were more horses nearby.
I had a long walk along the south side of Ponkapoag Pond (this stretch always feels so much longer than the rest) and spent a good amount of the time simply dodging horse poop. I needed the walkway to the Fisherman's Beach parking lot, but I skipped the beach becuase there were people there. I hiked the Pipe Line toward the private property, which was surprisingly dry minus a ~15 foot flat spot that was just squishy with plenty of deer tracks. I hiked the little loop foot path that connects to it, which looked very little traveled, and then continued onto the Swamp/Acton Path towards the AMC Camps (the current and older maps don't agree on what this stretch of trail is called). I wanted to finish out the Pipe Line on this side, but it was clearly floodeed.
I needed the driveway spurs around the AMC Camps, and then I hiked an unnamed path behind the camp kiosk toward Ponkapoag Path, which was a mecca for deer poop - at least 9 piles in a short segment of trail!
I worked my way onto the Fire Trail and then over to the Prescott Foot Path, which had a good amount of old burnt-orange blazes, which I just love to see. I zoned out for a while on this stretch, but eventually made it back onto the Ponkapoag Trail and back to the car! Now, time to get home, inhale dinner, and go to SLEEP.
Step-by-Step
- Park at Exit 3/Ponkapoag Trail.
- Start hike on Ponkapoag Trail (green).
- At 5302, turn right onto Hogdon Foot Path.
- At 5218, turn right onto Redman Farm Path (green).
- At 5175, turn left onto Acton Path (green).
- At 5216, turn right onto trail towards golf course.
- At terminus, turn left and walk along forest edge on golf course.
- Cross golf course, and reenter woods on trail.
- At terminus, turn right onto Acton Path (green).
- At jct., turn sharply right onto Pipe Line.
- At private property, turn around.
- At jct. with Acton Path, turn right onto trail.
- At 5355, continue straight onto Swamp Path (old map)/Acton Path (current map) (green).
- After 5360, hike two driveways on left.
- After 5361, turn right onto unnamed path.
- At terminus, turn left onto Ponkapoag Path.
- At 5362, turn left onto Hemlock Road.
- At 5384, turn left onto Fire Trail.
- At 5365, turn right onto Swamp Path (old map)/Acton Path (current map) (green).
- At 5370, turn left to continue onto Prescott Foot Path (old map)/Acton Path (current map) (green).
- At 5343, turn slightly right onto Prescott Foot Path.
- At 5322, turn right onto Ponkapoag Trail.
- Return to car.
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