Benjamin Ames - Hiking Massachusetts: A Guide to the States Greatest Hiking Adventures

Hiking Massachusetts

A Guide to the States Greatest Hiking Adventures

Second Edition

Benjamin B. Ames

HELP US KEEP THIS GUIDE UP TO DATE

Every effort has been made by the author and editors to make this guide as accurate and useful as possible. However, many things can change after a guide is publishedtrails are rerouted, regulations change, techniques evolve, facilities come under new management, and so on.

We would appreciate hearing from you concerning your experiences with this guide and how you feel it could be improved and kept up to date. While we may not be able to respond to all comments and suggestions, well take them to heart, and well also make certain to share them with the author. Please send your comments and suggestions to the following address:

Globe Pequot Press

Reader Response/Editorial Department

PO Box 480

Guilford, CT 06437

Or you may e-mail us at: editorial@GlobePequot.com.

Thanks for your input, and happy trails!

For Teddy and Isabel, with love to Shannon and gratitude to the conservationists and volunteers who preserve our wild places.

Copyright 2002, 2014 Morris Book Publishing, LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

FalconGuides is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.

Falcon, FalconGuides, and Outfit Your Mind are registered trademarks of Morris Book Publishing, LLC.

Photos by Benjamin B. Ames, except author photo by Annie Branch.

Maps: Alena Joy Pearce Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Project editor: Julie Marsh

Layout: Casey Shain

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ames, Benjamin B.

Hiking Massachusetts : a guide to the state's greatest hiking adventures / Benjamin B. Ames. -- Second Edition

pages cm. -- (State hiking guides series)

Summary: Sample 39 of the finest trails Massachusetts has to offer. This hikers paradise offers routes to mountaintop vistas, historic landmarks, and pristine seashore. Hike along cranberry bogs in Massasoit State Park, overlook the Merrimack River in Maudslay State Park, follow the Appalachian Trail over Becket and Walling Mountains in October Mountain State Forest, or walk the state from Rhode Island to New Hampshire on the Midstate Trail.Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4930-1114-8

1. HikingMassachusettsGuidebooks. 2. MassachusettsGuidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.M4A48 2014

796.5109744--dc23

2014004123

The author and Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Contents

Introduction

Among natural regions in the United States, Massachusetts ranks near the top on just about anybodys list of places to enjoy outdoor recreation and wilderness exploration. Even better, centuries of human history in New England have opened these wild acres to easy access via miles of ancient hiking trails, logging roads, footpaths, and dirt roads. With a free day to roam the state, hikers can easily discover places theyve never been, from riverbank to rocky ledge, from open field to shaded forest.

Massachusetts hosts 15 national parks, 143 state parks, 70 state forests, and hundreds of additional acres managed by watershed management and fish and wildlife agencies. Additionally private groups such as Mass Audubon and the Trustees of Reservations oversee large swaths of town conservation land and dozens of animal sanctuaries.

For this book, the author chose an assortment of the regions best pathways, including some of the states greatest hits, a handful of hidden gems, and a 92-mile trail that spans the state from Connecticut to New Hampshire. The list features thirty loops and out-and-back trails in every corner of the state, as well as a nine-chapter description of the long-distance Midstate Trail.

None of these wild areas would exist in their pristine conditions without the tireless efforts of conservation professionals, state conservation and recreation workers, and all the donors and volunteers who support them. Many thanks for their dedication to the natural resources of the region. Be safe and enjoy!

Despite the pavement, Massasoit Park Road is a quiet, winding trail ().

Massachusetts Weather

I left Cambridge on a sunny March day, congratulating myself on being a careful hikerId packed a sweater and long pants, and thrown my winter hat in the pack for good measure. Arriving at a trailhead near the Barre Falls Dam after a short drive, I immediately walked into the woods and gasped.

With each step snow flew up my pant legs, packing around my boot cuffs. After 50 yards I was wading knee-deep. And after 75 yards I realized my dog was getting nowhere at allthe snow was so deep that it packed under his belly so his legs couldnt reach the ground!

Youd think I would learn a lesson from that experience, but the next weekend I ventured toward North Andover, an even shorter drive from my sunny, urban block. Sure enough, I traipsed into the woods, and got a little fartherperhaps 200 yardsbefore returning to the car.

Thats Massachusetts weather. And its one of your most important challenges, even on short day hikes in the state. Generally speaking there are three bands of weather in the state: the cape and eastern seashore tend to have moderate weather, with little snow; but when it rains in the east, it snows in the central plains and Connecticut River Valley; and the autumn foliage comes earliest of all in the western, mountainous Berkshires.

Another crucial detail for any hiker is how much daylight he or she has. Massachusettss sunrise varies from 5 a.m. in June to 7:15 a.m. in December, and sunset varies from 4:15 p.m. in January to 8:30 p.m. in June.

Average monthly temperatures in Boston range from 28 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 72 degrees Fahrenheit in July. But beware: The extremes can reach 40 degrees on either side of those numbers. Seasonally, nighttime frosts begin in late September and end by early May. Bostons average annual precipitation (including both snow and rain) is 44.23 inches.

Flora and Fauna

Why are birch trees white and laurels green?

Can animals smell fragrant plants like sweet fern and bayberry, as people can?

And wait a minutelook, a polar bear, a tarantula, a python!

Okay, so there are no polar bears walking wild in Massachusetts, but the state has a little bit of almost everything else. One of the best ways to learn all about it is at the EcoTarium, a natural history museum in Worcester (www.ecotarium.org).