href="#litres_trial_promo">60 Upton State Forest
Appendix B: Conservation Organizations
MAP LEGEND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From Helen Weatherall: Many of the most wonderful places in Massachusetts likely would not exist as open space if not for Charles Eliot, landscape architect and founder of The Trustees of Reservations. In the interest of fostering support, I would also like to acknowledge the Essex County Greenbelt Association; the Sudbury Valley Trustees; the Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS); the Dartmouth Natural Resource Trust; the Trust for Public Land; the Charles River Conservancy; the Appalachian Mountain Club; the Audubon Society; Friends of Lynn Woods; Friends of Middlesex Fells; Friends of Hemlock Gorge; Friends of Manchester–Essex Woods; everyone behind the Bay Circuit Trail, the Wapack Trail, and the Mid-State Trail; The Trustees of Reservations; and the gutsy, huge-hearted members of every last conservation commission in the state. Gratitude to friends and family, whose sustained interest and support helped carry this book to fruition. Thanks to my brothers, Bobby and Alexander. Thanks to my father, Robert Weatherall, who gave me his strong legs, curiosity, love of trees, and propensity for taking the long, scenic route; thanks to my trusty and courageous hiking companion, Katy, my 14-pound terrier; and with my deepest respect, appreciation, and love, thanks to my husband, Christopher.
From Lafe Low: I wholeheartedly concur with Helen’s acknowledgment of the myriad conservation organizations that preserve and protect some of the Bay State’s finest wilderness areas. This would be a far less attractive world without the woods and trails to which we all love to retreat.
And while I hiked many of these fantastic journeys on my own, I was also joined by friends and family for several, most notably my intrepid son, Devin Low; his companion Ashley Squires; and my friends Peter Tamposi, Mark Grundstrom, Lisa Marshall, Scott Schultz, Brian Merritt, Jason Howell and son Liam, and Beth Phillips.
Here’s a list of who hiked with me and where:
FOREWORD
Welcome to Menasha Ridge Press’s 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles, a series designed to provide hikers with the information they need to find and hike the very best trails surrounding metropolitan areas.
Our strategy is simple: First, find a hiker who knows the area and loves to hike. Second, ask that person to spend a year researching the most popular and very best trails around. And third, have that person describe each trail in terms of difficulty, scenery, condition, elevation change, and other categories of information that are important to hikers. “Pretend you’ve just completed a hike and met up with other hikers at the trailhead,” we told each author. “Imagine their questions; be clear in your answers.”
Experienced hikers and writers Lafe Low and Helen Weatherall have selected 60 of the best hikes in and around the Boston metropolitan area. This second edition includes new hikes, as well as additional sections and new routes for some of the existing hikes. Lafe and Helen provide hikers (and walkers) with a great variety of hikes, all within roughly 60 miles of Boston—from urban strolls on city sidewalks to aerobic outings throughout the area surrounding the city.
You’ll get more out of this book if you take a moment to read the Introduction, which explains how to read the trail listings. The “Maps” section will help you understand how useful topos are on a hike and will also tell you where to get them. And though this is a where-to, not a how-to, guide, readers who have not hiked extensively will find the Introduction of particular value.
As much for the opportunity to free the spirit as to free the body, let these hikes elevate you above the urban hurry.
All the best,
The Editors at Menasha Ridge Press
PREFACE
There is nothing so restorative, so calming, so fulfilling as a walk in the woods. Whether a peaceful stroll through the trees, an aggressive hours-long hike up and over rocky crags, or something in between, you can’t help but feel better after getting out into the woods. It is truly essential.
Everyone has different reasons for wanting to get out in the forest and go for a hike—to get in better shape, relax, get back to nature, take the dog for a walk, take your kids for a walk—and they’re all good reasons. As long as you’re getting out.
At the risk of sounding old, being out in the woods always takes me back to my childhood. I am reminded of the days when my friend Dan Quagliaroli and I would head out with overloaded backpacks, a huge sense of adventure, lofty ideals, and no idea where we wanted to go. Often we wouldn’t even tell our moms where we were going because we truly made it up as we went along. Those were the days.
While this was not an original work for me, it still required that I retrace all the hikes in the original edition. I was chosen as the revising writer to update and expand on Helen Weatherall’s excellent Boston-area hiking guidebook. As part of the update process, I also researched and wrote about five new hikes.
Boston is a remarkable area. You can truly get a sense of just how much green and wooded space is intermingled with the urban jungle when taking off from or landing at Logan International Airport during the day. It’s quite a sight. There’s the obvious density
