2016 Summer Hiking Guide

The summit of Signal Hill (188 ft.) with Great Blue Hill in the background

The summer season is now in full swing, and with milder temperatures expected for this weekend, it’s a perfect time for Canton residents to get outside and explore their community. To help them make the most of these local outdoor adventures, the Canton Citizen is pleased to present its 2016 summer hiking guide.

‘People of the Great Hills’

Far and away the most familiar hiking destination in the area — and one of the most treasured in all of southeastern Massachusetts — is the Blue Hills Reservation, a 7,000-acre state park that stretches from Dedham in the west to Quincy in the east. The defining geological feature of the park is Great Blue Hill, a 635-foot dome of granite on the Canton/Milton border that offers impressive views of the Boston skyline, the Massachusetts coastline, and distant mountain peaks.

One of the most popular routes to the summit is the red dot loop trail that starts and finishes at the Trailside Museum on Route 138. The hike is moderately strenuous with rugged and rocky sections but covers a total distance of just one mile and can be completed in approximately one hour.

For the more experienced hikers, the classic option is the Skyline Trail, which traverses the entire Blue Hills range across several summits, including Chickatawbut Hill, Buck Hill, and Great Blue Hill. Going from one end to the other requires two vehicles; however there are also numerous loop options, including a popular three-mile trek that starts and ends at reservation headquarters on Hillside Street in Milton.

For those who prefer a lowland route, the Blue Hills offers numerous paths and trails that are relatively flat, including a scenic, four-mile loop around Ponkapoag Pond — the reservation’s largest and most remote body of water. Considered a hidden gem by many locals, the trail encircles the entire pond and has three different starting points: Ponkapoag Golf Course via Maple Avenue; Blue Hill River Road, just off Exit 3 on I-93; and Randolph Street, just past Temple Beth David.

An optional side route at the northwest corner of the pond will lead hikers across the Ponkapoag Boardwalk through an Atlantic white cedar bog — a rare and fragile ecosystem filled with unique plant species, including carnivorous pitcher plants and sundews.

Local historian George Comeau, author of the Citizen’s “True Tales” column and an avid hiker, counts the Ponkapoag Pond loop and detour through the bog as one of his favorites and said it is like taking a “journey back in time.” There is even one spot, he said — near the Ponkapoag Dam — that is believed to be an unmarked burying ground of the Ponkapoag Indians.

Comeau also highly recommended the Eustis Trail, a little-known and narrow trail northwest of reservation headquarters that is accessible via the Wolcott Path. In addition to its natural beauty, Comeau said the trail consists of land that was once owned by John Hancock and passes an ancient well that dates to Colonial times.

“As you hike, you experience the forest primeval and the most gorgeous ferns and moss that spiral skyward,” he said. “This trail is a transformative experience, and anyone that I have ever guided is moved by the beauty.”

Another hike that Comeau strongly suggested was the Burma Road — a two-and-a-half-mile path through the Fowl Meadow section of the reservation that starts in Milton at the intersection of Neponset Valley Parkway and Brush Hill Road.

“One trail follows the Neponset River and it is a real treasure,” said Comeau. “This can be a nice loop, and the wildlife is superb. There are new paths that take the hike past an abandoned Prohibition-era still site. Most of this hike is actually in Canton, and it is awesome in the early morning.”

Protecting and Preserving

While the Blue Hills Reservation is unmatched in terms of sheer size and ecological diversity, there are numerous other sites in Canton open for residents to explore and enjoy.

These include conservation lands that are privately owned yet freely accessible, such as the 120-acre Mildred Morse Allen Wildlife Sanctuary located behind the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon on Washington Street. Located due south of the town-owned Pequitside property, the sanctuary features a network of trails that winds through a meadow, a pine/oak forest, vernal pools, and a red maple swamp.

Another Massachusetts-based conservation organization, the Trustees of Reservations, owns and maintains two other popular sites in Canton: the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate and Signal Hill, both of which, along with MABA, were featured on the list of “1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts” that was put out by the state in 2010.

The 90-acre Bradley Estate, located off Route 138 near the junction of 128, offers more than three miles of cart paths and trails that meander through the woods and low-lying wetlands.

Signal Hill, which is located off Dedham Street at the end of an industrial park (just after the I-95 underpass), is a 150-acre open space preserve offering impressive views of Great Blue Hill along with substantial frontage on the Neponset River, complete with canoe and kayak access. Both Trustees properties are open every day year-round from sunrise to sunset.

Another local natural resource that is relatively new but growing in stature is the Farnham-Connolly State Park, located off Neponset Street on the site of the former Canton Airport. The passive-recreation park features a small loop trail with interpretative signage and scenic overlooks, plus another 230 acres of freshwater marshes and other wetland habitats that are accessible along an unpaved trail. The trail runs for approximately one mile and dead ends at I-95; however, future plans call for the construction of a new pedestrian and wildlife underpass that would connect to properties along the Neponset River to the north.

Off the Beaten Path

In addition to the familiar names and places, Canton also has a variety of lesser known hiking spots that are dotted throughout the town, not to mention acres and acres of unspoiled woodland along the southeastern corner.

Trail map for Ward Well conservation land (click to enlarge)

Debby Stein Sharpe, chairman of the newly formed Canton Walk, Bike & Hike Committee, said the committee is working in conjunction with new Town Planner Laura Smead to create a trail map for Canton residents. In the meantime, she suggested that hikers explore some of the aforementioned locales as well as the conservation land on the Canton/Stoughton line between Pleasant and Turnpike streets.

Identified on maps as Along Red Wing Brook, the area features a variety of trails that travel through forest, marshes and other wetlands, stretching from the Windsor Woods playing fields to the end of Ward Well Road.

Somewhat near that location, on the easterly side of Route 138 off Indian Lane, is another short hike recommended by Comeau. Located across from Chief Lane on a 20-acre parcel owned by the Canton Historical Society, the hike follows an ancient cart path that used to be the way to an old pig farm. “As you hike in,” said Comeau, “and just after the walls on your right end, go up the hill to the Indian burying ground, marked by four granite posts deep in the woods.”

Other lesser-known trails in Canton are mentioned on the Neponset River Watershed Association website, including walking trails behind the Canton Police Department in an area known as Eliot Hollow.

NepRWA also identifies an area off Walpole Street as the Canton Town Forest, with trails starting at the dead end on Forest Avenue. Comeau described this location as a “hidden gem and super secret,” although it is indeed pubic land. “There are a few trails, one of which can bring you just about to the Canton Airport park,” he said. “Really, a nice level, short hike.”

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