Two Parks not Really worth it this time of Year

Thursday, DJ and I set off for another day of hiking. We went to three places we had never been to

One of the big white pines at Elm Bank

before.DJ worked the night before so he didn't get much sleep. He was willing to go anyway so I hoped it would be worth it to him to get up early.

 The first that we went to was the Elm Bank Reservation off Route 16 in Wellesley. Of the three, this was the one I was most looking forward too. I am a member of "Massbird" an email club that members post about bird watching. Elm Bank is mentioned a  lot. The park is 182 acres. Unfortunately some of that land is soccer fields, parking lots and the MA Horticultural Society has their headquarters there. So there is not a lot of trails to hike. We did find one nice trail that ran along the banks of the Charles River for about 1/2 mile. Along the trail were some huge oaks and white pines. I liked the trail a lot. It just wasn't very long. There is a lot of paths and paved roads making it a great place to jog or walk a dog. But for a hike, it was a little disappointing. Though in spring, with migrating birds, the fishing in the river and warm weather, I can see it being very popular. The weirdest thing we saw was a canoe going down river without anyone in it. There wasn't any sign of anyone following it or trying to capture it.

The second place we went was even more disappointing. We went to Powisset Farm in Dover. The farm is owned by the Trustees of Reservations. A private group that protects open land, sort of like the Audubon Society. The farm is a "working farm" over 100 acres. They have livestock, hayfields and vegetables gardens. I obviously did not expect to see the garden in all its glory this time of year. I did think there would be trails through meadows and hayfields. Maybe there are, but all we saw was the main area and some chickens. This would be a fun place to go in spring and summer with little baby animals and a huge garden. It is open to the public, but again, for hiking it was lacking.

Charles River

Exploring new places, I expect to find places that disappoint. I except this as part of the game. Later in the day we found Noanet Woodlands that was really nice. Last week I hit it two for two with Cutler Park and Wilson Mountain, but I want to share places with you guys that might not be worth the time also.

Lonely canoe going downstream

Chickens at Powisset Farm