Last weekend I bravely decided to go for a winter hike in the cold January weather in the hills of the greater Boston area. Blue Hills Reservation is a great spot that offers numerous trails of all different lengths and skill levels (if you’ve read any of my other post you know I’m quite fond of the spot). On saturday, in the low 20° New England weather I thought I’d try a trail that was a little more flat since the ground was so frozen. So, me, my trusty side-kick Erin, and my camera embarked on a small winter quest. Ponkapoag Pond is located on the southern part of the reservation just south of RT 95 and is on a dead end street right off the highway, so you can’t miss it.

Sterling Pond Trail to Long Trail via Smugglers Notch Pass.

If you fund yourself in the Stowe, VT area during the summer months, Smugglers Notch Resort has a great array of trails for hiking around it’s three different mountains, Morse mtn. Madonna mtn. and Steeling mtn. The trails range from moderate to hard and include x-country skiing and mtn bike trails as well. One thing to note is that the altitude range is from 1100′ and the base to 3640′ at the top of Madonna mtn so it’s important to pace yourself at a pace slower than you might be used to if your not accustomed to higher altitude hiking.

Sterling Pond trail is a great late morning to early afternoon hike that will take about 3 hours or so including so resting time at the top for a beautiful view and some lunch. The trail starts across from the parking area at right in the middle of the Notch and has about a 880 foot vertical ascent. This is about 3 miles south of Smugglers Notch Resort on Rt 108. The start of the trail consists of old wood/rock steps that in some spots are better avoided. Since the trail is pretty popular, it well cared for and easy to navigate as long as you use general precausion on slipperly rocks and such.

Middlesex Fells Rock Circuit is a moderate to hard 4 mile hike that includes an array of ascends and descends. This is part of the greater Middlesex Fells Reservationtrails. The trail runs through the east side of the reservation and its pinnacle (aptly named Pinnacle Rock) overlooks Oak Grove, and in the distance a great view of Boston.

The trail start out on Woodland Road and the best place to park in in the ice rink on Woodland Road. Alternatively there is parking about 100 yards up from the rink on the same side of the road. The entrance to the trail looks like a utility path blocked by a large metal beam. Just go around this and you’ll see the entrance sign. From here you follow the blue marked trail up the hill for about a 1/4 mile until you see the split in the trail for the white trail (Rock Circuit Trail).

Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) is located in Lincoln, MA only about 25 mins from downtown Boston. It is a couple of trails that go around the Sandy Pond water reservoir. There is a biking trail and several hiking/walking trails. This location is where the great Henry David Thoreau went when he wanted a peaceful retreat from the busy Boston life.

The Blue Hills reservation is another large preserve that is part of the Massachusetts department of conservation and recreation network. The Blue Hills is located in Milton, Mass. just off of RT 93 exit 3 for Houghton’s Pond, another great hike which I will review another day. There is a bountiful amount of trails to hike as well as plenty of other outdoor activities such as: fishing, mountain biking, non-motorized boating, camping, horseback riding, and more. The trails range from easy strolls through well packed paths, to moderate-hard climbs that involve an assortment of ascents and descents. We choose, this particular time, to take the western part of the Skyline Trail.

Middlesex Fells Reservation is located right off of Interstate 93, exit 33, just a stones throw from Boston. The main entrance is the best to use as it has the most parking and a trail map with other useful information about particular plant and insect life in the reservation. There are plenty of trails to make this more a great spot for frequent visits as well as several bike paths that include a wide array of biking abilities…

Today we decided to try out a new trail about 30 minutes from Quincy in Weymouth. The trail is part of the Trustees of Reservations. There are several entrances to this land, but we chose the Turkey Hill entrance due to its proximity to route 3A. We parked in the small dirt lot that was only occupied by three other cars. Erin decided to play around with the camera while I was getting the GPS and my bag ready which led to a series of random shots…