Chase Woodlands and Peters Reservation

Beautiful Red Pines

Continuing on my winter hiking kick on Thanksgiving morning I went to the town of Dover, MA to do some exploring. DJ was going over his moms for lunch while we planned on having our meal about 4 pm. Chase and Peters are two large pieces of open land right across the street from each other. They are on Farm Road. The Trustees of the Reservation own these properties.

The parking lot is on the Chase Woodlands ground. I snapped a picture of the trail system on my phone and went off. These are fine woods, but there wasn't anything for me to look for like a summit view, a pond or a river. None the less I came across some deer tracks and tracks of what I think is a raccoon.  I did an outer loop hike that took a little more than an hour.

The true purpose of this adventure was to go snowshoeing. We got an inch down my way the night before, but the weather forecast called for about 5 inches inland. That did not materialize. The area got about the same as where

Just a man, his hot chocolate and a trail

I live. There was between a dusting and two inches on the ground. Even though I couldn't snowshoe, I got to give my new Keen winter boots a test. They were comfortable but a little heavy. I loved that they were waterproof. I walked through ice cold puddles and my feet stayed dry and toasty warm. Overall I was very satisfied.

After a quick drink at the car I crossed the street to Peters Reservation. I liked these woods more. There is a trail to a canoe landing on the Charles River. The spot is very scenic. To the left the Charles is a bit marshy. On the right across the river is a cow farm.  The trail to the river is also nice. A fine stand of tall perfectly straight red pines lines the way. There is also a "knoll" on site. Basically a small hill without a view. There is a stand of rhododendron that I am sure is beautiful in May.

By far the highlight of my walk were three deer. As I was walking toward the knoll three deer came bounding toward me at almost full speed. They came from my right, ran by me about fifteen feet away and continued past my left. It happened so fast, there was no way I could get a picture. Still, it was an awesome experience

The Charles River at Peter's Reservation