Ponkapoag Loop via Exit 3 (Blue Hills Reservation)

Ponkapoag Loop via Exit 3 (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 4.76 miles

Elevation: 246 feet

My Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Book Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Parking: Limited roadside parking for ~8 cars at Exit 3.
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills 2

The Hike 

FINALLY back to the Blue Hills! Between band, breakups, and everything in between, I haven't been giving the reservation the attention it deserves. My only plan was the normal green-blazed Ponkapoag Loop this afternoon. It was a beautiful, chilly afternoon in the upper 50s. The fall colors were still pre-peak, but still beautiful. I hiked onto the Ponkapoag Trail, past some crazy squirrels that were screaming at me, and turned right at the split.

I noticed some paths on the left/pond side of the trail, so I did some exploring, and they only came up to the edge of the Ponkapoag Bog = no views of anything. Maybe it used to be a view, or maybe the path went further around the pond?

I continued my trek around the pond, passing the YMCA driveway and then the entrance to the boardwalk, which is still closed and has no sign of anything being different. There was a lot of afternoon chirping in the woods, which was lovely. A super low-flying helicopter passed overhead as I hiked onto the golf course - there were a couple people playing, but it was by no means busy. It was SO nice out.

I worked my way towards the dam, which has one of favorite views of Great Blue Hill. The water was mostly still with some small ripples. Some of the trees were popping with color, which was beautiful to see reflected. There were also some piles of horse poop to keep things interesting!

I had never realized how many stone walls the trail passed between the dam and Fisherman's Beach - I need to count them some time. There were some more crazy squirrels in this section, including one squirrel that I think was malfunctioning? It squeeked for a good 30-45 seconds without stopping!

I caught anohter beautiful view from Fisherman's Beach (which is Fisherman's Cove on the map? Did I make Fisherman's Beach up?). This loop would really be perfect if it wasn't for the roar of I-95 and the high hums of endless airplanes overhead. There was a sign about the new deer management program:

"From the canopy to the understory, healthy forests are made up of trees and plants of multiple age classes and a diversity of vegetation. This forest system also provides habitat for a rich and varied wildlife population. Forests with high deer densities prevent forest regeneration as deer over-browse on the forest's vegetation. Extremely high deer densisites also contribute to the growth of invasive species and reduce biodiversity. The Blue Hills Deer Management Program is part of DCR's long-term effort to manage high deer densisites within the Blue Hills Reservation. The primary objective is to maintain an ecologically sustainable deer densisty that allows for the continuous growth and development of forest regeneration. In particular, DCR wishes to reduce the negative impacts that high deer densities have on the regnerating forest to ensure a healthy forest composed of adequate diversity of species and age classes. To initiate deer management within the Blue Hills Reservation, DCR and Mass Wildlife successfully implemented the first-ever controlled deer hunt in the Reservation during the 2015 hunting season. Now in its eleventh year, the Program features a permitted archery hunt in designated areas of the Reservation. The 2026 permitted archery deer hunt will take place over the course of 15 days on: Mondays through Thursdays only from November 2 - November 25, 2026. No hunting allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and no hunting allowed on Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26, 2026. In accordance with state laws and regulations, archery hunting will be permitted from one-half hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset. The permitted archery hunt will only take place in designated areas of Blue Hills, as showing on the Blue Hills Archery Hunt map."

On the theme of processing the breakup (still): these quieter, more introverted moments of the day are when the breakup starts to feel heavy again. Partly it would be nice to share this with him, but also I'm still getting used to not telling him about my post-work adventures. I journaled this morning which was objectively a good move. I think I'm overall doing better now that I'm over three weeks post-mortum.

ANYWAY. The AMC road joined the trail - there was an old orange blaze - I wonder if I'd ever noticed it before? At the corner the trees were delightfully yellow, and I zoned out for a lot of this stretch as I worked on my New York Times crosswords. That was a huge perk of the no-thinking hike, I got to play my crosswords AND exercise!

I took a detour to the view of the pond at the northwest corner of the camp, and WOW. The sun was blindingly bright, but perfectly framed by the trees. It was worth the eye damage!

At the low point of the trail later on, I noticed a new scree wall before crossing the stream. I later caught up to a lady who did NOT want me to pass her - she turned around, looked at me, gestured, and then kept power walking.

I closed the loop and saw the sign at 5241 said Fisherman's Beach - I was not hallucinating!!! That's a huge win for me! I worked my way downhill back to the car from there. My arms were cold but body was fine and I was HUNGRY. First hike-then-Costco run of the school year?!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on Ponkapoag Trail (green dots).

- At 5241, turn right onto Redman Farm Path (green dots).

- At 5175, turn left onto Acton Path (green dots).

- At 5343, continue left onto Ponkapoag Trail (green dots).

- At 5241, turn right to continue on Ponkapoag Trail (green dots).

- Return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album