Quarries Foot Path & Quincy Quarries (Blue Hills Reservation)

Quarries Foot Path & Quincy Quarries (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Spaghetti Loop

Distance: 4.13 miles

Elevation: 449 feet

My Time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Book Time: 2 hours, 17 minutes

Parking: Room for one car at pull-off at 4223.
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

'Twas the Tuesday after Memorial Day and I only had a few trails left of the Blue Hills to hike for my patch, so I took a deep breath and had a dreadfully sleepy drive to the Quarries after school. I was simply not excited about this hike, but this and Braintree Triangle were all I had left! It was a warm day in the low 80s, I forgot to bring a wicking t-shrit so I was stuck in an awful cotton shirt, I applied my bug spray, and got to work!

Things actually got off to a wonderful start when I saw blazes! I remembered reading that the Friends of the Blue Hills got approval to blaze the trail - I was hoping for paint blazes, but instead they blazed the trail with laminated papers with a geometric "Q" stapled to trees.

One minute in and I was already fully covered in spiderwebs. I hiked past some yellow star grass (thank you, Seek!) and made my way into the woods, up and over a longtime annoying blowdown, and soon approached the famous confusing slabby part. There was some nice stone work leading up to the scramble. The blazes had been clear up until this point, but it was again unclear of how to get up. I went up the way that I always have, and it seems that I had been doing it the right way?

There was a lull in the blazing for a minute with only a few traces of flagging tape (which is why I think paint blazes would have been a better move). This whole area is so cool. If they could clean it up, maintain the trail, and somehow change the culture around partying in this area, it would be a really wonderful area.

I learned that the way to stay on-route is to just follow the high ridge until a viewpoint, and then veer left to descend (there was a blaze on a tree here). I successfully got the spur to Adams Path and then the spur that looped back upon the Quarries Foot Path. I was actually feeling good!

I was feeling very good except for the hellscape that was the soaking wet cardboard-esc cotton on my skin. I made my way over to that awfully grown-in meadow, and was rewarded with a deer! There were also a comical amount of orange moths simply... making love. I made my way back to the Quarries Foot Path and then the final loopty loop nearest 4238, which was mostly marked with flagging tape (thankfully). I finished out the Quarries Foot Path, which appeared to now cross Riccuiti Drive, which had a sign! The sign on the opposite side of Riccuiti Drive read: "The Quarry Trail winds through an area previously dotted with granite quarries. Between 1815 and 1956, numerous quarry pits operated in this area. The Quincy granite industry led to innovations in quarrying techniques. Famous for its quality, Quincy granite was shipped throughout the United States and the world. Laborers came to Quincy from northern New England and from Europe to work in the quarries, transforming Quincy from an agricultural community to a major industrial center. From 1997 to 2001, the largest quarries were filled with dirt from the Big Dig project in Boston."

I hit the bits of trail on the western edge of this side and then worked my along toward the spur path that led to the main Quincy Quarries parking area, passing some interesting looking folks on the way. The main quarry area was super cool per usual - the graffiti has transformed from "crime" to real art, and the view from the top is really cool! There was a guy at the tippy top, so I left him alone. I had to be careful, though, because the paint-covered granite was slippery. 

Now I was going to work my way around this area clockwise, starting by following the path around the flooded quarry near the road, which had a spray-painted metal sign with the geometric "Q" on it! There were a few mallards on the algae-filled pool. I worked my way up the trail, passing another metal "Q" and a small green sign high up on a tree - it's clear they've put some work into this area. 

The trails in the northeast corner were almost painfully overgrown, but I got them done! I followed the trail around the flooded tall quarry in the northeast corner of the park, enjoying the views on the way! The trail turned left off of the high wall just before a slight uphill to the highest point.

In the back section, I am always interested in the trails that are not on the map, but I was not ready to be exploring! I made my way down to the Incline Railway and read the following message:

"Quarry Museum Open June

The Quincy Quarry and granite Workers Museum will be open on Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th from 11 to 4 for a self-guided walking tour at the Lyons Turning Mill and museum located on 20 Quarry Hills Drive, West Quincy. Historic pictures of the granite industry and interpretive information can be viewed at each stop around the mill. The museum will be open to view pictures and artifacts from Quincy's granite industry. Come visit our indoor, outdoor and geology museums. Museum members will be on hand to answer questions and Quarry Museum T-Shirts will be on sale to help support the museum. The quarry museum, Lyons Turning Mill and geology building is open the first full weekend and 3rd Saturday each month through November. Come visit an learn Quincy's granite history Free admission"

I wrapped up this upper portion of the quarries, crossed Riccuiti Drive again, and continued my journey, circling around another quarry and hitting the unfortunately overgrown loop near Douglas Street. For the last couple of minutes in this loop, I also had the distinct pleasure of following a turkey that simply would not get off of the trail. It gobbled at me initially, but wouldn't do it again for the camera. It eventually ducked out right at the close of the loop to join it's turkey friends, and then I made my way onto the Adams Path and then Bunker Hill Lane! This was the most successful trip to the quarries ever! I decided I'd reluctantly drive to the Braintree Triangle to finish out my map. It was a nice day, and I think I'm calling out sick tomorrow...

Step-by-Step

- Park at 4223.

- Start hike on Quarries Foot Path (blazed with Q).

- Round the wide corner by the "t" on the map, and hike the. mini loop.

- After, hike the trail that connects to Adams Path.

- At Adams Path, turn around.

- Continue on Quarries Foot Path, hiking next mini loop and spur to 4236.

- At 4236, turn left.

- At terminus, turn around.

- Return to Quarries Foot Path.

- At second junction (before 4238), turn right.

- Follow flagging and AllTrails to hike path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Quarries Foot Path.

- At 4238, hike triangle and turn right.

- At terminus, turn left.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At Ricciuti Drive, turn around.

- At jct., turn left.

- At 4238, turn left onto Quarries Foot Path.

- At Ricciuti Drive, turn around.

- At 4238, turn left.

- At jct., turn left and cross Riccuiti Drive.

- First, hike to top of Bunker Hill Quarry (easternmost).

- Then, go back to pavement and hike Quarry Trail around pond.

- Hike trails on west side, then hike to 4229.

- At 4229, turn left.

- At terminus at Granite Railway Museum, turn around.

- Return to Riccuiti Drive and cross at same spot.

- At terminus, turn left.

- At jct., turn left onto Adams Path.

- At road, turn around and then turn left.

- Hike mini loop near Douglas St.

- At end of loop, turn left onto Adams Path.

- Follow Adams Path to 4235.

- Continue onto Bunker Hill Lane.

- Turn right onto Furnace Brook Parkway to end hike.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Nahanton Hill, Reservoir, Sassaman Notch Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Nahanton Hill, Reservoir, Sassaman Notch Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop w/ Lollipop Spur

Distance: 4.17 miles

Elevation: 522 feet

My Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Book Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes moving

Parking: At Chickatawbut Overlook.
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

"Heavier than usual traffic on your route" - Google Maps, again.

I was going back and forth on getting a hike in on this Wednesday afternoon. Traffic was abhorrent and I was already getting out late, but I rallied. It was going to be the last nice day until the weekend and I knew I'd feel better if I sucked it up. I made it to the Chickatawbut Overlook trailhead at 4:20pm (horrible). Thankfully, it was a nice partly sunny day at 67 degrees with a breeze - could be worse. The main objective for the day was the Blue Hills Reservoir, one of my three last sections - anything else would be a bonus - off I go!

As a gace of god, my mood was turned around 2 minutes into my hike when I heard the beautiful song of a Baltimore Oriole (thank you, Merlin)! I hiked the Tower Path over to the rock stairs on the back side of Nahanton Hill - I was determined to see a view! The blueberry and other bushes were starting to bloom, which made for a very scenic mini climb. My legs were feeling a bit tired from my first leg day in like six-ish weeks (and it was a weak leg day at that), so I was moving slow and steady.

The view from Nahanton showed hazy clouds north of Boston with mostly blue skies south - fun to see! I made it down and up the first Broken Hill, which is always a favorite of mine. The tent catepillars were also loving the first Broken Hill. The swamp between #1 and #1.5 was fully dried up, and just after I turned left onto the Squamaug Notch Path, which had even more tent catepillars and some red columbine flowers that I had never seen before (thank you, Seek!). I turned onto the Ridge Path and then started my loop around the Reservoir.

The path around the Reservoir that follows Chickatawbut Road was actually in great shape - I feel like my legs usually get tickled the entire time, but I had no tickling to speak of! There were a couple of fishermen on the wooded side along with what I believe to be a Great Egret. It was windy on this loop, but all nice.

The egret flew away as I got closer, naturally. I walked along the dandelion-lined path parallel to the woods, hiked the penninsula (the reeds that usually block the way were flattened - maybe from this year's snow?), and passed the two fishermen, who seem to have become friends! I then worked my way back to Squamaug Notch and the Skyline Trail to finish out the Broken Hills.

I hiked the Pocapawmet and Wampatuck Paths, landing on the Curve Path. The swamp that the Curve Path follows had some wildlife commotion going on, but I was not planning on finding out what it was! I decided to make my return via the Sassaman Notch Path, which is a really pretty old road. It makes it fun to imagine what life was like when it was an actual road proper. The path was a bit of a slog after a while, but eventually I was back in the notch, passing the tower, and back to my car!

Upon plugging this hike into my spreadsheets, I found that this was my 200th hike in the Blue Hills! How fun!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Chickatawbut Overlook.

- Start hike on Tower Path (yellow dots).

- At tower, turn left on Tower Path (yellow dots).

- At terminus, continue onto unnamed path up Nahanton Hill.

- At split, turn left.

- At 3103, continue onto Skyline Trail eastbound (blue rectangles).

- At 3144, turn left onto Squamaug Notch Path.

- At 3131, turn right onto Ridge Path.

- At Chickatawbut Road, turn right.

- Continue on path along road, hike around reservoir clockwise.

- Return to Ridge Path.

- Turnleft onto Ridge Path.

- At 3131, turn left onto Squamaug Notch Path.

- At 3144, turn left onto Skyline Trail (blue rectangles). 

- Before Chickatawbut Road, turn right onto unmapped Pocapawmet Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Wampatuck Path.

- At 3153, turn right onto Curve Path.

- At 3135, turn right onto Sassaman Notch Path (red dots).

- Follow Sassaman Notch Path past the turn of red dots, turn left onto Tower Path (yellow dots).

- Return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Ponkapoag East, Hemlock Road, Randolph Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Ponkapoag East, Hemlock Road, Randolph Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Spaghetti Loop

Distance: 8.03 miles

Elevation: 420 feet

My Time: 2 hours, 18 minutes

Book Time: 4 hours, 13 minutes

Parking: At Donovan Elementary School (weekends).
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2026; Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

I feel like we keep having rainy weekends! I didn't get out hiking yesterady due to... RAIN, and I had plans today with Christien in the afternoon, so my only window was a morning in the Blue Hills. Thankfully, I still had one more medium-big section left of my map, so off to Randolph I go! It always feels strange going to Randolph, since I used to work there. I parked at the Donovan school, booted up at the car, and was on my hike! It was a cool 54-degree morning full of wet plants and clouds overhead. I threw some bug spray on (the first of the year!) just in case I caught any ticks. I also needed a few hanging chads on the main Ponkapoag side, but wasn't going to get married to that idea - one thing at a time!

My hike started on Meadow Road and then on an unmapped connector and then unnamed trail, both of which had plenty of horse poop. I hiked the unique trails around the Ladybug Trail, Sumner Path, Cranberry Circle, and Coolidge Path (and fought for my life to stay on the correct trail, as there's a bunch of random paths), did NOT spook a deer right off of the trail, and then worked my way over to the old ballfields. There was SO MUCH horse poop.

To no surprise, Pasture Road was muddy. Not super wet-wet, but very muddy. The slippery kind of mud that you don't expect, and suddenly you're mudsliding three feet ahead. I turned onto the first unnamed trail at 5424 and noticed that this area was recently burned! According to Facebook, just a few days ago, which made sense since the smell was pungent. I was sweating from the humidity (and probably from dodging poop), and loopty-looped my way around this area, running into another deer at the footpath end of Pasture Road! There was also some impressive Japanese Knotweed.

Once I survived, I returned to Pasture Road and made my way to the Pequimmit Trail, following muddy deer tracks on the way. Pequimmit Trail was nice and dry and bisected another unmapped trail on the way to the Pipe Line. I passed some young tent catepillars and started a long figure-8 loop, turning left onto the Pipe Line, hiking the triangle at the base of the horse bridge, and then continuing onto the Wannamanhut Path. The sun would poke through occasionally, followed by another patch of darker clouds. The trail came near Route 24, and when it ended, I turned left onto Middle Road, which came to a hole in the fence SUPER close to 24. Spooky! I turned around here, crossed the Pipe Line, and continued onto the main part of Middle Road, which had a few criss-crossing trails not on the map. One day I WILL explore the Nike area, but not today.

I crossed Middle Street and continued onto an unmapped footpath. When it terminated, I turned onto the seldom-used eastern spur of Smith Trail, which gently rose and steeply dropped to some private property at an impressive rock (I almost fell down the steep drop, oops). I turned around, hiked to the Pipe Line, hiked the Pipe Line to I-93, and then turned around and hiked the full Pipe Line all the way to MA-24. Naturally, the last bit after the horse bridge entrance was the worst, but it wasn't unbearable, at least?

After my grassy excursion, I did push onto the main Ponkapoag area, where I only needed a few trails (including another bad stretch of the Pipe Line). I crossed the horse bridge, hiked Vose Path (both branches), and then continued along Hemlock Road. Just before the Pipe Line junction, there was a comically deep... dry? mud pit? Like it wasn't dirt, but it also wasn't sopping wet. Weird. I hit the stretch of Pipe Line towards 24, then the rest of Hemlock Road, across a little stream, to the road, back across the little stream, into the little stream (oops), and then I turned left to finish out the Pipe Line, which was slippery and muddy and wet (and stinky?). In my insanity, I started to conjure up a silly route called the "Pipe Line Traverse," which would either require extensive backtracking to avoid 24/93 or painful road walks.

Thankfully, life got better after the Pipe Line was done. I turned to hike near the AMC Camps and then onto Randolph Path, hitting two spurs I needed, then I returned across the horse bridge and back onto Meadow Road. I watched a little red squirrel chase a massive grey squirrel, which brought joy, almost got run over by a mountain biker, and then was back at my car! 

Now I only have four little and one medium section left: the Field Path area, the Brookwood Farm area, the Blue Hills Reservoir, the Braintree Triangle, and of course, the Quincy Quarries. Almost there!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Donovan Elementary School and start hike by entering woods and turning left onto Meadow Road.

- At Reed St., turn right onto unmapped path.

- At terminus, turn left onto path.

- At Reed St., turn around.

- At jct., turn left onto Ladybug Trail.

- At someone's back yard, turn around.

- At jct., turn left.

- At terminus, continue left onto Meadow Road.

- Hike network of trails with Sumner Path, Coolidge Path, Cranberry Circle, etc., then continue left on Meadow Road.

- At 5414, turn right onto Pasture Road.

- At 5424, turn right.

- At terminus, turn left.

- Follow to Pasture Road, then turn right.

- At turn, continue left onto Pasture Road, now a footpath.

- At 5440, turn around.

- At jct., turn left.

- At jct. at ballfield, turn right.

- At jct., turn right.

- At terminus, turn left onto Pasture Road.

- At 5423, turn right onto Pequimmit Trail.

- At 5421, turn left onto Pipe Line.

- Hike triangle at 5413, then turn onto Wannamanhut Path.

- At 5422, turn left onto Middle Road.

- At break in fence turn around, cross Pipe Line, and continue onto Middle Road.

- Cross Middle Street, continue onto unmapped foot path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Smith Trail.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 5425, turn right onto Pipe Line.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 5413, continue straight on Pipe Line.

- At MA-24, turn around.

- At 5413, turn left onto Randolph Path.

- Before 5401, hike large triangle at Vose Path, then continue south on Hemlock Road.

- At 5395, turn left onto Pipe Line.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 5395, turn left onto Hemlock Road.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 5395, turn left onto Pipe Line.

- At 5355, turn right onto Swamp Path (green).

- At 5360, turn right onto Randolph Path.

- At jct., hit spur to Ponkapoag Path, then continue.

- At 5401, turn left onto Hemlock Road.

- At 5362, turn around.

- At 5401, turn left onto Randolph Path.

- At 5413, veer right onto Meadow Road.

- Follow Meadow Road to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Hillside Pond, Valley Path, Unquity Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hillside Pond, Valley Path, Unquity Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Loopty Loops w/ Long Spur

Distance: 5.00 miles

Elevation: 413 feet

Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Parking: Parking on the side of Hillside Street on Hillside Pond side.
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2026; Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

It's definitely May. I was hiking in chilly mist yesterday, cold rain on Saturday, but today it's a HOT 75 degrees out! Back at the Blue Hills, the plan was to hike the Hillside Pond, Valley Path, and Unquity Path areas today. I started with the loop around Hillside Pond, which really is a lovely little loop. There were unfortunately small bugs out. There were fortunately turtles out, too! The path around the pond is always surprisingly rugged, and I like it. I did get a bug in my ear, though.

I was surprised by how clear the water in the pond was. I was equally surprised by the wild amount of water bugs that were swimming and scattering about. They were also comically clumsy. They acted like cartoon characters when startled: the just swamp into each other, bouncing off one another until they got away from the shore line. I was cooking in the sun, so I was happy that I wasn't doing an overly strenuous hike. 

I took an unmapped STEEP trail to hit the rest of the trails, and to mix things up I did some loopty loops, crossing Chickatawbut Road to avoid having to turn around - I liked it! I also loved the old stone walls in this area. I also did not love the multiple enormous piles of horse poop? The gnats were really out and about, as was the pollen. I did my loopty loops and continue on the Barre Trail past a great broken boulder and then I continued on down to Border Path, which is truly a delightful stretch of trail. It easily descends alongside a small stream, crossing it at the low point. The skunk cabbages were looking luscious as the treetops began to gain color. 

I continued up Valley Path and was delighted to see that I got the longer trail that goes through the Bermuda Triangle. I hit the small connector to Valley Path, the lower of the two had a massive blowdown to navigate. I hiked back down Valley Path, spooked a family of four deer (only three alerted their tails, though!), and then continued along the Border Path.

I passed the private land and fence gate with no connecting fense, and then hiked the border path to Unquity Road before continuing onto the Unquity Path. This stretch of the hike was expected feeling much longer than the rest... because it was. Part of the path was nearly overtaken with Japense Barberries, the swamp area was stinky, and the coniferous areas were beautiful with giant pinecones on the ground. 

Back "above ground," I was gateful that the grass wasn't too long yet, but I was sad the cars on Unquity Road were too loud for my Merlin Bird ID app to work well. I did decide to play Pokemon Go on the return trip, which was my saving grace! The return trip took me exactly 25 minutes of Pokemon Go. Time to head to Costco for chicken!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Hillside Pond.

- Start hike with a counter clockwise loop around Hillside Pond, hiking the second spur to the road.

- At the close of the loop, take the unmarked steep gravelly path east.

- Follow path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Barre Trail.

- At jct., stay right onto path towards Dark Hollow.

- At jct., turn right onto path.

- At terminus, cross Chickatawbut Road.

- Continue onto Headquarters Path.

- At jct., turn sharply left onto Quincy Path.

- At 2112, turn left onto Dark Hollow Path.

- At terminus, cross Chickatawbut Road.

- Continue on path on other side of road.

- At jct., turn right onto Headquarters Path.

- Cross Chickatawbut Road, continue on Headquarters Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Quincy Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Barre Trail.

- Cross Chickatawbut Road, continue on Barre Trail.

- Cross Hillside Street, continue on Border Path.

- At 1224, turn left onto Valley Path.

- At terminus, cross Chickatawbut Road, continue on path.

- At terminus at Hillside Street, turn around.

- Hike left spur, then return to Valley Path.

- At 1224, turn left onto Border Path.

- At Unquity Road, turn around.

- At 1215, turn left ono Unquity Path.

- At terminus, turn around and return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

St. Moritz & Green Loops (Blue Hills Reservation)

St. Moritz & Green Loops (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Loop w/ Spurs

Distance: 4.96 miles

Elevation: 449 feet

Time: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills (2x)

Parking: Shea Memorial Rink.

The Hike 

One day later and I'm back at the Blue Hills at the St. Moritz Ponds to maybe wrap up the Quincy stretch (outside of the Quarries proper, I'm procrastinating those HARD). It was an absoutely beautiful 65-degree afternoon without a cloud in the sky. I had a super sleepy drive down from Arlington, so sleepy that I had to munch on my emergency cheerios to keep going. I suited up at the Shea Rink parking lot and got started on the trail past the old ballfield. The pollen was ACTIVE, my god. The ponds were full of lily pads and there were an absolutely wonderful number of turtles soaking up the sun. It brings me so much joy watching the woods get greener and greener as the days go by.

On the Murphy Path, I had to naviagate around some comically huge piles of horse poop and then had a pretty easy time finish up the trails on the St. Moritz side (minus the ridiculously steep Ski Jump Path). I followed the Pipe Line acros Wampatuck Road, and then continued to follow the green blazes, almost getting off-task at 4155, but holding strong! I hit the connect trail between Skyline and Green as I continued around, passing a weird mummified toy horse made out of straw...?

On the far side, I found myself yet again wondering about the old Great Dome Trail, but conitnued my journey following green blazes. I got off the green loop between the Crags and Rattlesnake Hill to get that trail, and then I followed the Skyline Trail past Sullivan's Quarry (which had little fishies!) onto Shawmut Path.

Afterwards, I got back on green, crossed the road again, and hiked past the old trees (a favorite stretch for me). I continued between the ponds, enjoyed the turtles and mallards, and made it back to the car feeling good and satisfied - Quincy section sans Quarries is done! Now, time for Costco chicken.

Step-by-Step

- Park at Shea Memorial Rink.

- Turn left onto Willard Street.

- At trailhead for St. Moritz Ponds, turn left.

- At jct., turn left onto Winter Carnival Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Minichiello Path.

- At 4205, continue onto Ski Jump Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Murphy Path.

- At jct., turn left onto Obbatinewat Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Pipe Line.

- At 4202, turn right onto Murphy Path.

- At 4220, turn sharply right onto Pipe Line.

- Follow Pipe Line, cross Wampatuck Road, continue on Pipe Line (green).

- At 4155, turn right onto trail (listed as Crags Foot Path on FBH, not on 2020 map).

- At 4151, turn around.

- At 4155, turn right onto Pipe Line (green).

- At 4135, turn right onto Indian Camp Path (green).

- Follow green blazes all the way around clockwise.

- After 4151, turn right onto path between Crags & Rattlesnake Hill.

- At terminus, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- Atop Sullivan's Quarry, continue right onto trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Shawmut Path.

- At parking area, turn around.

- At terminus, turn right onto trail (green).

- Cross Wampatuck Road, continue on green.

- At terminus, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- Follow Skyline Trail back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Fox Hill, Old Furnace Brook, Sawcut Notch, Pine Tree Brook Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Fox Hill, Old Furnace Brook, Sawcut Notch, Pine Tree Brook Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Loop w/ Spurs

Distance: 4.96 miles

Elevation: 469 feet

Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Parking: Pull-off on side of Chickatawbut Road where the Skyline crosses before climbing Wampatuck Hill.

Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills (2x)

The Hike 

The final day of April Vacation! Instead of mourning the loss my beloved or panicking about returning to school, I decided to get a nice hike in the Quincy area of the Blue Hills before Ray and I do a big spring clean of the house. I made it to the trailhead at 4134 at 8:15am already suited up. It was 47 degrees, so I had a long sleeve on with shorts, and it was cloudy and chilly. I was feeling dreadfully unmotivated, but I knew I would feel better onc emoving. The goal was to get some trails around Fox Hill and Little Dome for my Trail Trace the Blue Hills map!

I started by hiking the series of trails around the Pipe Line, which was starting to come back to life (not too quickly, though, thankfully). I then worked my way over to Fox Hill, where my puffy came off, and I was passed by a tiny yellow bird that refused to stay still for a photo. There were actually SO MANY birds around Fox Hill, but none of them would pose for photos. I almost got one robin, but it kept moving, and another Eastern Towhee (thank you, Merlin Bird ID) did it's best to smile. The trail down the north side of Fox Hill was MUCH easier to follow when there isn't snow on the ground, and it looks like it's even been brushed recently!

After Fox Hill, I continued onto the Furnace Brook Trail, which was fully of vibrant skunk cabbage. I continued again onto the Old Furnace Brook Path, following horse prints and and many Eastern Towhees working on their nests. 

I eventually made my way onto the Sawcut Notch Path, where I sadly began to run into people. There were many cardinals singing (again, thank you Merlin) as I hiked to the road and turned around to walk all the way down to Little Dome, walking through the Sawcut Notch and the weird, vibrant, rust-colored mud that simply must be an ecological hazard. 

At the corner of Sawcut Notch, there was a relatively new arrow plackard pointing where the trail turns, but I stayed right to hike towards the Pipe Line plant place - which I could soon hear through the woods. I passed the first tent catepillars of the season, and I felt a sense of dread because the non-trail stretch of the Pipe Line from the plant was VERY flooded.

I continued around the plant and hiked the Pipe Line section that's always awful, and it was... awful. Not like, god awful, but pretty bad. I made it through with only a wet toe, so I'll take that as a win! I made a wiggly return back over Fox Hill and back to the car in time for spring cleaning! I wanted to add on the reservoir, but I needed to grocery shop before cleaning, so time to be an adult!

Step-by-Step

- Park at 4134.

- Start hike on path, veering left.

- At 4131, turn right onto Crag Trail.

- At jct. with Pipe Line, turn sharply left.

- At jct., turn left.

- At terminus, turn right.

- At Pipe Line, turn right.

- At jct., turn around.

- At terminus, turn left onto Fox Hill Path.

- At Fox Hill summit, turn right onto path.

- At 4120, continue onto Furnace Brook Trail.

- At 4142, turn right onto Crags Foot Path (green).

- At 4145, turn left onto Old Furnace Brook Path.

- At 4180, turn right onto Sawcut Notch Path.

- At Skyline Trail, turn around.

- At jct. near Little Dome, continue straight/right.

- At gas plant, turn left onto Pipe Line.

- At 4094, turn left onto Pine Tree Brook Path.

- At 4084, turn left onto White Tail Path.

- At 4096, turn right onto Fox Hill Path.

- Return to car via Pipe Line and nearby trails.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Skyline Traverse Eastbound (Blue Hills Reservation)

Skyline Traverse Eastbound (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Traverse

Distance: 8.51 miles

Elevation: 1,841 feet

Time: 4 hours, 14 minutes (3 hours, 53 minutes moving)
Parking: Drop Car #1 at Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy. Drive Car #2 and park at cul-de-sac at the end of Royall Street in Canton on side of road.

Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; Great Blue Hill Summits

The Hike 

Reunited with Sarah for a Skyline Traverse! I hadn't gotten a new patch in a while, nor have I done a traverse of the Skyline Trail in years, so it was time! We agreed to meet in Quincy at 7:30am and get started with our hike at 8:00am. It was nice and exciting to be getting a bigger hike in so close to home. I had plans around 1:00pm, so I was hoping to be back in time for that, we'll see!

[7:56am - Start of Hike]

We started on the access path toward the actual start of the Skyline Trail at 7:56am. It was a nice morning with blue skies, warm sun, a cooler temperatures in the high 40s/low 50s. At the terminus of the access path, we turned left onto the Skyline Trail, pretending that we weren't actually on the trail yet. I never understand why they have the trail start in such an awkward-to-get-to place. We hopped along the murky streams and litter-covered rocks, eventually OFFICIALLY starting our traverse!

[8:01am - Skyline Trail]

We hit the abandoned highway interchange, officially beginning our traverse! We retraced our steps and continued onward, missing the spur to Royall Street that I needed (oh well), crossing Green Street, climbing up and down Little Blue Hill, crossing paths with an... interesting fellow, and carefully crossing MA-138.

[8:26am - Skyline Trail/MA-138]

Thankfully the crossing wasn't too horrible. The steep climb up Great Blue Hill had both of us huffing and puffing, but thankfully the sunny views helped push us along higher up! We could clearly make out Mt. Wachusett from the view, which was a fun little treat, and we loved seeing the early springtime buds on the trees. 

We did take a side-path to the true summit to "boop" the plaque, and then we continued to the Eliot Tower, which gave us a wonderful view of Boston.

Our hike continued down Great Blue Hill, up and over Wolcott Hill, and then up and to the viewpoint on Hemenway Hill, which was just beautiful. It was nice to be on super-familiar trail, but more fun to be continuing on afterwards! We descended Hemenway and went up and over Hancock before making our way to Hillside Street.

[9:34am - Skyline Trail/Hillside Street]

The Hillside Street crossing was nice and easy and the walk up the Bugbee merge was lovely. We dipped off back fully into the woods and started our surprisingly heart-pounding climb up Tucker Hill (I always forget how rugged this side is, too). We scrambled down Tucker Hill, talking about what big hike we want to do next (maybe Lafayette tomorrow??), and then went up and over North Boyce before a final push up Buck Hill for a sit and snack. It was SO NICE out, but still a little chilly with a breeze. 

[10:32am - Skyline Trail/MA-28]

We got lucky with the timing of our MA-28 crossing and continued on into the woods, spotting an old orange blaze (which I love finding). We both took potty breaks in the flat stretch between the Pipe Line and Chickatawbut Hill - we were so joyful to be relatively alone in the woods - the perks of hiking on a Monday!

We steeply scrambled up Chickatawbut Hill, enjoying the view back towards Buck Hill, and then continued past Fenno, Kitchamakin, and enjoying the beautiful views of Boston and the ocean from Nahanton and the nicely laid stone steps all around.

We continued over the four and a half broken hills, admiring the beautiful forests in this area, alongside MANY Eastern Towhee birds and the old fenceposts. We were joined by a few hikers on the final broken hill, and easily descended to cross Chickatawbut Road.

[11:34am - Skyline Trail/Chickatawbut Road]

(EDIT: Writing this with time stamps, I'm really enjoying that we spent almost exactly an hour in each section of the park). Almost in the home stretch! We had a steep-but-short climb up Wampatuck Hill and enjoyed the partial views. We were both in-and-out of void time at this point of our hike, which wasn't a bad thing at all. We enjoyed the views into the little swampy pond after Wampatuck, and then had a STEEP, scrambly climb up to The Crags, which has one of my favorite unique views in the park.

We descended the Crags and went up and over the shoulder of Rattlesnake Hill, past Sullivan's Quarry, crossed Wampatuck Road, and had our final push across the St. Moritz Ponds and to Sarah's car! Yay! I was NOT making it to my 1:00pm plans, but we weren't TOO far off!

[12:10pm - End of Hike]

We got my car, got nice and changed, and locked in our plans to hike Mt. Lafayette tomorrow! We'd have a 4:00am departure time, meeting at the Burlington Mall to drop a car at 4:30 for the drive up. The weather was looking not-freezing, virtually wind-less, and CLOUD-FREE! Should be a great day!

Once home, I got showered, packed, and headed to Chrsitien's to see RAYE at the MGM Music Hall that night!

Step-by-Step

- Park at end of Royall Street and enter woods.

- At terminus of path, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At terminus/pavement, turn around.

- Follow Skyline Trail to eastern terminus at Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Little Blue Hill Area (Blue Hills Reservation)

Little Blue Hill Area (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 3.44 miles

Elevation: 292 feet

Time: 1 hours, 22 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; Blue Hills Grid

The Hike 

After an extra sleepy drive, I was back at the Blue Hills with Sarah to hit the trails around Little Blue Hill! We were both super low on energy, so we decided to keep it easy, and she's a good sport about tagging along for my tracing hikes, even if they trend boring. We suited up at the park and ride on MA-138 with it's many... interesting characters, and turned onto MA-138 to get to the Skyline Trail!

We followed the Skyline Trail and made our best guess as to which of the many paths was the actual Cosmos Path... whichever one we chose had a boyscout-style fortification made out of limbs and sticks and a massive pile of poop... ANYWAY we continued onto the spur at 6877 and then worked our way over and up Little Blue Hill by the signed but unmapped path on the north side of the hill, which was actually quite lovely!

There was some graffiti on the summit of Little Blue Hill, but nothing overly insane. We continued along the mossy path down towards the Hemenway bench at 6880, and then hiked towards the Cosmos and K Paths for a long wander around the area. Naturally, we were daydreaming about future hikes during this stretch, which was not overly visually or physically stimulating.

We heard the TERRIFYING sound of a Donkey while on the far side of the Cosmos Path, and once on the K Path for a second time we heard an Eastern Towhee and a Red-shouldered Hawk (thank you, Merlin Bird ID), which was really cool! That gave us a little boost to make it up Skyline, back up most of Little Blue, and to finish out Moulton Path. We took Skyline back to the cars, past a few more interesting, but harmless characters, and then we were all done! For a short, easy hike, we were both exhausted! Thankfully, it's almost April break!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Park and Ride on MA-138.

- Turn right onto MA-138.

- At jct., turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6877, hike spur to driveway.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 6877, turn right onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6830, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto unmapped path.

- Summit Little Blue Hill, continue to Moulton Path.

- At 6880, turn right onto Moulton Path.

- At 6830, turn left onto Cosmos Path.

- At jct., turn right and hike spur to Green Street.

- At Green Street, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6670, tun left onto K Path.

- At Royall Street, turn around.

- At 6850, turn left onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6670, turn right onto K Path.

- At 6895, turn left onto path.

- At jct., turn left.

- At 6880, turn left onto Moulton Path.

- At 6891, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Cosmos Path.

- Return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Fowl Meadow & Swamp Trail (Blue Hills Reservation)

Fowl Meadow & Swamp Path (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 5.96 miles

Elevation: 82 feet

Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

Time for a Blue Hills hike with Sarah, the first in a while! I'm working medium-hard on completing my three-season tracing map, so I proposed a relatively flat hike at Fowl Meadow, and Sarah was on board! We met at the Burma Road trailhead around 3:45pm, about 30 seconds apart from each other. It was an obnoxiously warm 80 degree April afternoon and we were SWEATY from the start. We got right to work hitting the various paths around the parking area and then started a long walk down Burma Road.

Birds were chirping and flying around the reeds as we walked in and over the footbridge. The path was starting to grow with greener grasses, but still unproblematic. I was HYPERvigilant about ticks the whole time. We caught up about hiking, skiing, various life events, and eventually made our way onto the Fowl Meadow Path (one of my favorites - a bit more narrow than Burma Road lined with tall trees) and hiked the little spur former trail at 6009 (I did not notice the usual weird items in the woods - maybe they were removed by humans or water?). We came to the terminus and Sarah went "IS THAT THE TRAIL?!," staring directly at the Neponset River, and I happily reassured her that it was not, and we had to turn onto the Indian Path.

The Indian Path was drier than expected and a little more grown-in than expected. The first "crossing" was just a pit of mud, which was truly a wonderful sign for the rest! The Neponset River Gague listed 8ft, which is below the benchmark level for water-on-trail of 9ft. On the trail, we followed the meandering path for what felt like a long time, hiking over three piles of deer poop and getting passed by two Acela and two MBTA Commuter Rail trains. We even saw a turtle! It would really be a lovely hike if it was better maintained! We turned back onto Burma Road, signed by some flagging, and then finished up the tail end of Burma Road (naturally I yapped about how this was all going to be I-95, roughly). I almost stepped on a garder snake, which sent me at least 30 feet into the air!

To be kind to future me, I also proposed we hit the little loop off of the Swamp Trail, and thankfully Sarah is down for a nice little lackluster hike! The footbridge on Fowl Meadow Path was back where it was supposed to be (last time I was here it was washed down a few feet) and I noticed some large bird houses on top of shiny metal sheets wrapped around a few trees in the swamp proper... interesting!

We squished past the always-flooded stretch and continued through the area that has been absolutely enveloped in what I assume are invasive vines. We saw a car door? I always wonder if the weird stuff in this area 1) has just been dumped here, 2) has been washed-in from floods, or 3) are leftovers from when the state took this land to build 95? A mystery!

We made our way onto Green Hill Path and hiked towards Field Path, and then back towards the spur on 6106. We then followed the Green Hill Path out to the unmapped trails that connect back to Fowl Meadow Path. We were swatting bugs! By far the biggest bummer of spring...

Back on Burma Road, we had a nice long walk out, past a toad, and soon enough were back at the car with another hike in the books!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Burma Road parking.

- Hike paths around parking area, then start hike on Burma Road spur.

- At end of spur, continue onto Burma Road.

- At jct., turn left onto spur to Brush Hill Road.

- At Brush Hill Road, turn around and turn left to continue on Burma Road.

- At 6005, turn right onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At 6009 (not on map), turn left onto path.

- At large tree, turn around.

- At 6009, turn left onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Indian Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Burma Road.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 6005, turn right onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Swamp Trail.

- At 6105, turn right onto Green Hill Path.

- At 6104, turn around.

- At 6106, turn right to hike path.

- At height-of-land, turn around

- At 6106, turn right onto Green Hill Path.

- Follow trail outside of Blue Hills Reservation, turn left at every jct.

- Continue onto Fowl Meadow Path.

- At 6005, turn right onto Burma Road.

- Follow Burma Road to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Ponkapoag Loop w/ Golf Course, Unnammed, & Fire Trails (Blue Hills Reservation)

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

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.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Chickatawbut Skyline, Bouncing Brook, Laurel, & Braintree Pass Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Chickatawbut Skyline, Bouncing Brook, Laurel, & Braintree Pass Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Lollipop Figure-8 Loop

Distance: 5.56 miles

Elevation: 774 feet

Time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; 52 Hike Challenge 2026

The Hike 

After a wildly sleepy, but otherwise painless drive, I was at the Chickatawbut Overlook and ready to cross of two hanging chads I needed in this area! It was a nice early spring day with temperatures in the low 50s and partly sunny skies with rolling clouds. Shorts and a long sleeve were perfect layers, and I happily was off!

I climbed up to the tower and wiggled my way up the back side of Chickatawbut. It was windy and chilly over here, but once I started gaining elevation I soon warmed up. It was also delightfully dry! I was ready for spring mud, but it seems the worst of it has since dried.

Once up on the Skyline Trail, the sun was shining brightly and the breeze had calmed down, making for some just wonderful hiking. I always forget how pretty this area is, too. Really all of the Chickatawbut sections minus the part directly connecting to MA-28 is wonderful over here. I went down Chickatawbut, up Fenno, down Fenno, up Kitchamakin, down Kitchamakin, up Nahanton, and then down Nahanton, past a wonderful view, into Squamaug Notch. I'm always curious about the foundation remnants on Nahanton Hill.

I climbed up the first Broken Hill. I always enjoy the forest here - it's open, piney, and formerly burnt so minimal understory - just super pretty. I walked over some avoidable mud, briefly descended to a little baby pond and climbed up the knob that is Broken Hill 1.5 (that's what I call it, at least). I followed the old fence posts up Broken Hill #2 and followed them all the way to #4. There were a wild amount of snapped, young trees on Broken Hill #2, I'm guessing they were weak from fire and the winter took them out. There was a nice tree view to the reservoir before the easy almost-scramble up #3 and I got a nice, unique view and springtime bush on #4. 

I made my way down towards Chickatawbut Road and turned onto the unmapped Pocapawmet Path, which brought me to Wampatuck Path. I ran into my firts person of my hike at the terminus of Wampatuck Path, who was a younger hiker on her phone with her two dogs off-leash, covered in mud, and coming right up to me. I can't stand lazy dog owners.

I was dealing with some recurring weird hip pain that started in my left hip and had migrated over to my right, but with mindfun walking it was fine. The swamp and Bouncing Brook were not nearly as full as I thought they would be, another sign of the spring melt drying out!

Once on Laurel Path, I giggled to myself as I hiked deeper and deeper into the reservation, to an area that is arguably one of the more remote spots of the reservation, which doubles as one of the spots closest to I-93. I made my way onto the Braintree Pass Path, maneuvered around an impressive blowdown, and admired the mental image of this area before they blew up the path for the interstate. Before the turn in the trail, there was a stone wall. I wonder if the stone wall continues on the other side of I-93?

I turned to continue onto the Braintree Pass Path, which was now an old road, and found truly the worst possible thing imaginable on me... a TICK. I scraped it off with the force of a butcher's knife and felt every small leg hair movement for the rest of my hike. HORRIBLE. This was the first tick I found since my hike on Smarts Mountain years ago. AWFUL. There were some geese being cute in Wild Duck Pool, though, so that was nice... I guess.

I continued from Braintree Pass Path to Skyline Trail, and was really kicking myself for saving the steep climb up Chickatawbut Hill for last! Either way, I suffered my way up, passed an adorable red squirrel holding a nut in its mouth, and followed Stowe and Tower Paths back to the car. A beautiful afternoon, even if a tick tried to have me murdered!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Chickatawbut Overlook.

- Start hike on Tower Path (yellow).

- At tower, turn right to conitnue on Tower Path (yellow).

- At 3075, turn left onto Sassaman Notch Path (yellow).

- At jct., turn right onto Thayer Path.

- At jct., turn left along fence to continue on Thayer Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At Chickatawbut Road, turn right onto Pocapawmet Path (not on map).

- At terminus, turn right onto Wampatuck Path.

- At 3152, turn riht onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- At 3130, turn left onto Laurel Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Braintree Pass Path.

- At 3042, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- From Chickatawbut summit area, go straight when the Skyline Turns off and then turn right onto Stowe Path.

- At jct., turn left to stay on Stowe Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Sassaman Notch Path (yellow).

- At 3075, turn right onto Tower Path (yellow).

- At tower, turn left and return to car (yellow).

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Buck Hill, Fern Spring, Pig Rock, Bugbee, Forest, AMC Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Buck Hill, Fern Spring, Pig Rock, Bugbee, Forest, AMC Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Figure-8 Loop w/ Spurs

Distance: 4.86 miles

Elevation: 704 feet

Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

I had a MUCH better drive this time around to the Blue Hills after school. It was a cooler day in the upper 40s with clouds. Some mist on the drive, but overall it was dry. I did break out my emergency long sleeve from my pack since I foolishly only brought a t-shirt. The goal was to finish the Houghton's Pond section of the reservation today - we'll see how it goes!

Since it was a little chilly (and I had to pee), I went for the Buck Hill Summit Trail to get things started to warm up and get just a little bit of privacy. The trail was a little obscured in the beginning, but soon revealed a clear footpath. I will say, though, the old summit trail seemed to still be much more traveled. 

I noticed the area that burned either last spring or two springs ago was significantly less burnt-looking, and I could hear Peepers in the distance. The trail itself really is lovely. Easy grades and winding through a younger forest. I also love "breaking treeline" on Buck Hill! 

There were misty views from the top, still lovely though. I continued on over the Skyline Trail and onto the Fern Spring Trail, passing a bolt that I assume was once used for survey work (like the bolts on the northern Presidential peaks). I heard a WILD amount of Peepers from the view on Fern Spring Foot Path, and also noticed an old "trail closed" sign where the trail goes, but the sign was an OLD one. Like, still labeled as M.D.C. old, have I always just missed it?

I looked around for another footpath or an arrow, but saw nothing! I continued on business as usual, but futher down the trail noticed that it was CLEARLY obstructed with every fallen branch and limb in a 0.5 square mile radius. Oops! The reroute was much more obvious from the other side, with two closed signs (also old, though) and a new "Trail ->" sign. I vaugely remember reading something about trail work on Fern Spring, but I simply cannot find it anywhere, so it'll remain a mystery!

On the plus, the frogs were CRAZY at the swamp between Fern Spring, Pig Rock, and Fells Paths. Like, LOUD. Peepers, Wood Frogs, and some other species I do no tknow. It was such a treat. Anyway, I turned onto Pig Rock and made a little loop with Pig Rock, Bugbee, and Fells, all of which were lovely. I worked my way toward Skyline Trail and climbed back up Buck Hill for round two.

It was much cooler back on the Skyline Trail overlooking Hawk Hill, but I was soon back into the woods and onto the Forest Path, which was a little wet, but still no problem. I continued onto the AMC Foot Path next, which is a fun little trail that is easy to lose if you're not paying attention. The skies were getting darker, but I SHOULD be fine, since rain isn't expected until later tonight. I made my way to the old school house and had a mindless walk back to my car along Headquarters Path. Houghton's side of the Reservation was complete (minus Hillside Pond but I don't count that)!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Forest Path trailhead.

- Start hike on Forest Path.

- At 2175, turn right onto Headquarters Path.

- At 2153, turn left onto Buck Hill Summit Trail.

- At terminus, continue onto Fern Spring Foot Path.

- At 2154, turn left onto Pig Rock Path.

- At 2172, continue left onto Bugbee Path.

- At 2190, turn around.

- At 2172, continue left on Bugbee Path.

- At 2140, turn right onto Fells Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Doe Hollow Path.

- At 2141, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- At 2210, turn left onto trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Forest Path.

- At jct. with Skyline Trail, turn around.

- At 2194, turn right onto AMC Foot Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Headquarters Path.

- At MA-28, turn around.

- At 2175, turn right onto Forest Path.

- Return to Car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Houghton's Pond, Old 128, Pipe Line (Blue Hills Reservation)

Houghton's Pond, Old 128, Pipe Line (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 5.80 miles

Elevation: 266 feet

Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

My first after-school Blue Hills hike in a WHILE! The first half of my drive was quite pleasant and the back half was BAD. A van tried to run me off the road in standstill traffic bad. Thankfully, eventually I made it to the Houghton's Pond parking area and got ready for my adventure. It was a cloudy day, 60 degrees with a breeze at the pond. There were a LOT of people out and about - walking, fishing (literally IN the pond), playing in the playground, etc. And then there was me! Full pack "hiking" around. I needed the series of trails around the Nursey Trail and then also the far end of 128, so I'd see what I'd accomplish!

I started with the trails over by Nursery Trail, which were underwhelming and totally fine. I then worked my way back to the parking lot to get the parking lot spur and the Headquarters Path towards the Skyline Trail. Happy to get these trails out of the way, I did get blessed with some Peepers peeping along Hillside Street, alongside just a touch of shining sun.

I turned onto Bugbee/Skyline and then turned again onto Paddock, first hiking the paved portion and then the trail portion before going toward Andover Path, which was surprisingly dry and had a new-ish looking bridge (it could be year old in fairness, I'm rarely over there). I spent a lot of this time fighting with my pack straps - I just couldn't figure it out today!

Continuing my journey, I planned to wiggle to MA-28 and then come back via Old Roue 128 (literally just so I could play Pokemon Go), but I accidentally took a wrong turn and landed on Old 128 early, which was literally fine. I jumped back in the woods for the lower Oblique Path and then decided I wanted to do Monatiquot Path and Pipe Line the LEAST, so I'd bang them out today since the hike was decently overwhelming anyway. 

I hiked onto Monatiquot Path and took in the sights, smells, and sounds of I-93, eventually turning the corner and going into a deeper, prettier woods. I hit the spur to MA-28 and the rest of Monatiquot to Bugbee before closing the loop on Pipe Line, where there was a deer munching on some grass! To no surprise it ran away once I got too close. 

I zoned out for a while on Old 128 playing Pokemon, which was nice and helped the time go by quickly. Near the end, the flooded area around the Blue Hills River was LOUD with Peepers, which was lovely. Back at Houghton's Pond, I got a photo of Great Blue Hill and the pond, and back at the parking lot, I was horrified to see that the stop sign traffic was still backed up - rude! Anyway, even though it was a lackluster adventure, I was still thrilled to have gotten out.

Step-by-Step

- Park at Houghton's Pond main parking area.

- Hike needed network of trails around the cirlce, and then continue west on Headquaters Path.

- At terminus, turn left twice onto Nursery Trail.

- Follow paths around Houghton's Pond's north side.

- After bathrooms, follow path to parking lot.

- From parking lot, turn right onto Headquarters Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Bugbee Path.

- After 2054, turn right onto Paddock Trail (paved).

- At jct., turn left onto Paddock Trail (footpath).

- Hike network of trails on west side of Houghton's Pond, turn hike west from 2053. 

- At jct., turn right onto Andover Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Burnt Hill Path.

- At 2092, turn right onto Angle Path.

- At 2100, turn left onto Old Route 128.

- At 2123, turn left onto trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Beech Hollow Path.

- At 2146, continue left onto Oblique Path.

- At 2150, turn right toward Old Route 128.

- At terminus, turn left onto Old Route 128.

- At terminus, continue onto Monatiquot Path.

- Hike spur to MA-28, then continue on Monatiquot Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Pipe Line, then turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Monatiquot Path.

- At 2190, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Pipe Line.

- At terminus turn right onto Old Route 128.

- At parking area, follow paths back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

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St. Moritz, Ski Jump, Indian Camp, Sawcut Notch (Blue Hills Reservation)

St. Moritz, Ski Jump, Indian Camp, Sawcut Notch (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 5.54 miles

Elevation: 384 feet

Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2025; Trail Trace the Blue Hills

The Hike 

'Twas the morning after a late-night wedding, I was a bit hungover, and due to attempting to find love in this world, I was also feeling a bit anxious - definitely time for a hike! This would be my first tracing hike in a WHILE. I decided to tackle some of the Quincy sections of the Blue Hills - with the main goal finishing up the St. Moritz Ponds area and getting over to the power/gas plant (whichever it is). It was a WARM 78 degrees and I was met at the trailhead with a MASSIVE (30+ people) foraging group.

I started by hiking around the Shea Rink and past the abandoned ball fields. The St. Moritz Ponds were mostly lily pads and it smelled very much like "lake." I had to swim upstream against the foragers, which was frustrating. When I crossed the bridge on Minichiello Path I noticed the water level was about two feet below the wood, which is in stark contrast to when it was flooded last spring (or two springs ago? time is weird!). 

I hiked the network of trails between the Murphy Path and Pipe Line, got SWEATING from the humidity, and eventually began to follow the green blazes across Wampatuck Road and then Indian Camp Path. There was an occasional breeze that would slightly bring me back to life, but I was not feeling my best! Once on the far side of the Quincy area, I found a least a bajillion mushrooms - the foragers were missing out!

I wiggled my way over to the power/gas plant - the usually horribly wet spot was bone dry! There were folks working at the plant, which was awkward, but we paid no mind to each other as I hiked on by. I passed by some enthusiastic golfers, who scared the life out of me, passed a few people in Sawcut Notch, and got my one and only bug bite near the Old Furnace Brook Path. 

Once back in the St. Moritz area, naturally I found myself trapped behind the foragers again. I took the Firepit Path back to aovid them, and still ended up getting stuck behind them at the very end - boo!

My hike ended, I went home and showered, but I was still feeling extremely anxious about the dating game and love life and probably being 30 years old, so I had what I call "my great crashout" - I walked to Target, bought a journal and many pens, and continued to walk to the Arboretum and wrote for HOURS. It unfortunately felt very good and helped me 1) clear my head, 2) start to sort out my feelings, and 3) kind of look for insights and connections to other times I've felt this way. It's annoying when self-care works!

Step-by-Step

- Part at Shea Memorial Rink.

- Walk to other side of Rink and start hike on path.

- At jct., continue onto Winter Carnival Path.

- At terminus, continue onto Minichiello Path.

- At Pipe Line, continue onto Ski Jump Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Murphy Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Pipe Line.

- After 4205, turn right onto Obbatinewat Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Murphy Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Ski Jump Path.

- At 4205, turn right onto Pipe Line.

- At 4202, turn right onto Murphy Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Obbatinewat Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Pipe Line.

- Cross Wampatuck Road, continue on Pipe Line.

- At 4135, turn right onto Indian Camp Path.

- At 4091, turn left onto Crags Foot Path.

- At 4066, turn right onto Pipe Line.

- At terminus, turn left onto Sawcut Notch Path.

- Cross Wampatuck Road, continue onto Skyline Trail.

- At jct. after 4220, turn right onto Firepit Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Minichiello Path.

- Follow green blazes back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

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Braintree Pass, Savoy, Streamside Edge, Branch Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Braintree Pass, Savoy, Streamside Edge, Branch Paths (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 5.06 miles

Elevation: 581 feet

Time: 1 hours, 45 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills 

The Hike 

First hike in a while! At least in a while for me! After my busy week last week, I had Boston Pride Weekend, which is a hike in itself, and then I managed to get sick for the 1,000th time in 2025! (I had a tonsil stone that I apparently dug out too aggressively and subsequently infected my throat and then my ear... ridiculous). It was a humid 70 degrees and the trailhead was unfortuantely pretty full for 8:00am. I wasn't feeling 100%, but I wanted to do the best I could! My goal was to hit most, if not all the trails I needed to finish the Chickatawbut section.

I started by passing a super nice older man on the Braintree Pass Path, which was super lush with vegetation. I saw a dog poop covered in a fuzzy fungus as I made my way over to Bouncing Brook Path, making my way to the back half of Pipe Line, which was uncomfortably (but expectedly) grassy. There was also an impressive number of ant hills on the Pipe Line, which was interesting. 

I was high stepping like a fool near the end of Pipe Line, hoping to avoid brushing against too many blades of grass, dodging some nice deer prints, too. 30 minutes into my hike I put my bug spray on as I climbed up Savoy Path, which smelled strangely wonderful. I enjoyed the little view at the height-of-land on Hawk Hill Path near the terminus of Savoy, and did a quick out-and-back to 3011. 

Continuing on Hawk Hill Path heading toward Streamside Edge Path, I saw what I'm pretty sure was a pile of bear poop! I didn't know we had bears here, but I do remember when Sarah and I hiked Wood/Romari Paths I saw some scrapes on a tree that also looked bear-related... interesting!

Streamside Edge Path was not too wonderful. The closer I hiked toward I-93 the buggier and more overgrown the trail became, but at least I finished it! I described it in my notes as "remarkably unpleasant." Only plus side was that I saw my first ghost pipe of the year!

Once I closed the Streamside Edge/Branch loop I decided I'd start my return trip, leaving only one hike left in this section to close it out for my map. My return trip was nice and easy, and the sun even started to come out! Near the very end, I did almost get stampeeded by a running club, but thanfkully I escaped the hike un-trambled and with zero ticks!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike from Braintree Pass Path Trailhead.

- Follow Braintree Pass Path.

- After 3042, turn right onto Bouncing Brook Path.

- At MA-28, turn around.

- At 3011, turn left onto Pipe Line.

- At 3013, turn around.

- At MA-28, turn around.

- At 3005, turn right onto Hawk Hill Path.

- Immediately after, turn right again onto Pakomet Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Savoy Path.

- At MA-28, turn around.

- At 3030, turn left onto Hawk Hill Path.

- At Pakomet Path, turn around.

- At 3072, turn right onto Streamside Edge Path.

- At terminus, turn left onto Branch Path.

- At 3066, continue right onto Streamside Edge Path.

- At 3072, continue straight onto Braintree Pass Path.

- Follow Braintree Pass Path back to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

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Great Dome, Ridge, Wood, Romari, Squamaug Notch, & Skyline Trails (Blue Hills Reservation)

Great Dome, Ridge, Wood, Romari, Squamaug Notch, & Skyline Trails (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: oo-o Loop

Distance: 5.08 miles

Elevation: 597 feet

Time: 2 hours, 18 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2025, Trail Trace the Blue Hills, Blue Hills Grid

The Hike 

Sarah and I both decided we did NOT want to do a fitness hike after school, so she agreed to follow me around as I did some tracing in the Quincy and Chickatawbut areas! I had a CODE YELLOW drive, especially towards the end, but thankfully avoided any disaster. We got hiking at 4:00pm from the Chickatawbut Overlook parking area, first by following Chickatawbut Road and then following Great Dome Foot Path, where Sarah managed to roll her bad ankle twice! Boo!

We meandered down to Pine Tree Brook Path, Sassaman Path, and then Ridge Path, which brought us across Chickatawbut Road and over to the Chickatawbut Hill side of the reservation. We noticed an abundance of allegheny blackberry bushes and some baby baby blueberries! We continued over to Wood and Romari Paths, which were kind of underwhelming (as usual) and just buggy enough to be annoying. We did see FOUR frogs, though!

We slowly worked our way back to Squamaug Notch Path and decided to get some views on the Skyline Trail, which was an EXCELLENT move. Time felt slower than usual and I was mentally lagging, but following the Skyline Trail to Nahanton Hill brought me right back. The golden hour from the sun was stunning, and the views were wonderful. There were SO MANY baby blueberries, too!

We eventually made our way up and over Nahanton, down to the tower, and back to the car. A lovely afternoon!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Chickatawbut Overlook.

- Start by hiking east on Chickatawbut Road.

- At 4053, turn left and veer right onto Great Dome Foot Path.

- At 4073, turn left on Pine Tree Brook Path.

- At 4094, turn left onto Headquarters Path.

- At 4048, turn left onto Sassaman Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Ridge Path.

- At Chickatawbut Road, cross Chickatawbut Road and continue.

- At 3131, turn left onto Squamaug Notch Path.

- Before 3143, turn left onto Curve Path.

- At 3157, turn left onto Wood Path.

- At Wood Road, turn around.

- At 3174, veer left onto Romari Path.

- At 3152, turn right onto Curve Path.

- At 3143, turn right onto Squamaug Notch Path.

- At 3144, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At 3103, continue veering right.

- At Slide Notch Path, continue straight onto Tower Path.

- Return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album