Rocky Woods

An overlook at Chickering Pond
Catch and Release fishing is allowed

Today Laurie and I went to Rocky Woods in Medfield, MA. Rocky Woods is another of those
properties owned by the Trustees of the Reservation. It is the place I wanted to go to on Friday but ran out of time. There is a five dollar parking fee to hike there. Directions can be found on the Trustees of the Reservation website. However they are simple. The parking area is on Hartford Ave, which is off Route 109 in Medfield.

There are many miles of trail in this over 600 acre property. It is a very pretty place with a lot to see. I would say of the eight or so places I've walked owned by the Trustees it was my favorite.We got to the lot about 3 pm, and pulled out after 6. We probably hiked about 4-5 miles. There are a couple of views, seven ponds, a quarry, and a rock in the shape of a whale. I wanted to see everything so he hiked the shortest amount of trails to see all of the highlights.

After parking, he hiked up the red trail to Cedar Hill where I was surprised to find a view that went on for miles. From there we hiked to another scenic viewpoint. There wasn't much to see, but we found some comfortable sitting stones and enjoyed the cool breeze.

View from Cedar Hill

After we came down from the ridge we walked over to Jane  Pond. You can not get close to the water, so we only stayed there a minute. From there we walked over to Echo Pond. There is a bridge that goes over the pond. It is a lily pad pond filled with tons of frogs. We looked at the frogs and pond lilies for twenty minutes. We were not far from the car at Echo Lake so we went over and got some Gatorade.

When we started back up on our journey we had two more places to go, the quarry and Whale Rock. We headed back up the Red Trail and walked by Chickering Pond. First we came up on the quarry. Rock used to be cut out of it and dragged by horse and oxen. Although cool, there are a lot of trees and vegetation so it is tough to see. Then we continued up the trail to Whale Rock. True to its name Whale Rock looks a breaching whale. It has to be a hundred feet long. It was really impressive. after we went to the rock we headed back to the car for the 45 minute ride home.

I was very impressed with the scenery. There was a lot to see from hillside view to frogs in swampy

No this is not New Hampshire or Maine
It is Echo Lake in Rocky Woods

ponds. I wanted to see everything all in one day and we did without too much effort. I would highly recommend this hike for anyone in the area. The Boston Globe featured Rocky Woods as one of the ten places to see fall foliage. I will probably take another walk there in the fall and if I don't, it's a sure bet I will snowshoe there.

Whale Rock goes on forever