Sturbridge on With Eager Feet

The “Blue Lagoon”

Wed, 12 May 2021 02:37:25 +0000

It’s been far too long since I wrote about my travels here, and there are lots of awful reasons why that is. Rather than waste time talking about how I should have written more, I’m going to jump right in to my next post.

At the end of April, over a year into the pandemic, we took a small family “camping” trip in Sturbridge, our (new) home town. We love to stay in cabins when we camp — you can enjoy that outdoor, campground feeling, but never have to worry about putting away a soaking wet tent, or dealing with the maintenance on a camper. For the number of times we camp each year, paying extra for the cabin just seems like a smart deal.

Plimpton Forest (and a bit more)

Mon, 11 Sep 2017 01:11:09 +0000

Some news to start: next month I’m heading on a three night, four day hike through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, staying overnights at the High Huts of the White Mountains with some friends from work. So I’ve been gearing up and doing practice hikes as often as I can. I have yet to do a real tough mountain hike (I plan to hit up Wachusett before the hike, but am not sure when I’ll make it happen), but this Labor Day I wanted to hike several days in my hiking boots to break them in and make sure I shook out any issues.

Grand Trunk Trail to East Brimfield Dam – Sturbridge

Sat, 24 Oct 2015 19:25:46 +0000

It seems a recurring theme that we don’t have as much time to explore the trails on our Saturdays as we used to. Real life conspires to sap away even our protected time. And so last weekend we again found ourselves looking for a close hike which wouldn’t take up too much of our time.

We ended up driving towards one trail and stopping at another; we saw a parking area on Holland Road in Sturbridge with a Friends of Sturbridge Trails sign on it, and decided to see what it was. It turns out, it’s a somewhat new extension of the existing Grand Trunk Trail. This section walks along the Quineboag River to the East Brimfield Dam, and will eventually connect into the Brimfield section of the trail.

Getting back into the swing of it

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 23:57:22 +0000

Over the summer, our hikes were tough to manage. Without gymnastics blocking out the time, we either had to hike as a family, or hike when Evie was otherwise occupied, which wasn’t often. Given the heat and the bugs, we didn’t get out nearly as often as we had hoped.

But Fall is here, and with it comes cooler temperatures, fewer bugs, and a renewed presence in gymnastics for our little bundle of energy.

(Family) Wells State Park – Sturbridge

Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:41:19 +0000

Summer vacation means more family time, and we used that time at the start of July for a hike at Wells State Park in Sturbridge.

I’ve written a few posts in the past about hiking here; it’s a massive property with fairly long trails, and it’s possible to get over 6 miles of hiking in a day fairly easily as I demonstrated in a prior post. But this hike was a shorter journey, with our daughter dragging her feet a bit (perhaps because nothing is quite as fun as exploring Purgatory Chasm!).

Solo Canoeing, Hamilton Rod and Gun Club – Sturbridge

Wed, 29 Apr 2015 23:25:15 +0000

This past weekend, I took ownership of a genuine “beater” pick-up truck. This truck is old enough to drive, and it looks it. But it can do one thing our family SUV can’t — handle a canoe atop it.

The white sections are metal trim my father-in-law and I fastened to the body to make it pass inspection. The truck used to be his, and when he took it off the road I gave it a new home. I don’t know how long it will last, but a summer of canoe trips will be worth the cost of insuring it.

(Solo) Opacum Woods – Sturbridge

Wed, 29 Apr 2015 23:14:58 +0000

Spring fever is in full swing, and when I found myself with a free afternoon I knew I had to spend some of it in the woods. I debated my options for a while but ended up returning to Opacum Woods, a site I’d been to a few times before (last time, with Jess, was in the fall).

Fishing and Exploring in Sturbridge

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 15:41:56 +0000

No big hikes this weekend, but there was plenty of the outdoors.

Saturday, my in-laws came to visit, and my father-in-law and I got out our dusty fishing equipment and decided to try and hit the Quinebaug River to see if we could land any freshly stocked trout. We fished two separate sections near Old Sturbridge Village, exploring the shore and trying from a dozen different spots. We got a few hookups but landed no fish. It was a beautiful day with highs in the low 70s, and regardless of what the fish were doing we couldn’t have been more content. The water was clear, we saw fish and birds, enjoyed the warm air, and enjoyed some good company.

Quinebaug Woods and Tantiusques – Sturbridge and Holland

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:57:17 +0000

After a rainy week, we knew the trails might be a bit muddy and slippery with fallen leaves, so we opted for some easier locations this weekend. With Evie safely handed off to Saturday gymnastics, we stopped for lunch at Soup to Nuts in Sturbridge. They’re a cozy lunch spot with a limited menu including a rotation of homemade soups and quiches. Even though I’d never heard of it, they’ve been in business 31 years. Shows what I know!

Opacum Woods – Sturbridge

Sat, 04 Oct 2014 22:38:21 +0000

Another Saturday, another Saturday hike! We had to suffer through some rain for this one, though.

We decided to explore Opacum Woods, a property held in trust by the Opacum Land Trust. It’s a beautiful wooded area located behind a nice neighborhood in Sturbridge. It fills the corner made by the connection of Interstates 84 and 90.

At the trailhead we met some folks from Opacum who were closing up shop; earlier in the day they had officially opened up a new bridge built as an Eagle Scout project and were handing out new trail maps. They gave us one of the new maps; a definite improvement on the one we had picked up when we ran into them at the Big MOE.

Leadmine Trails – Sturbridge

Sat, 27 Sep 2014 22:25:11 +0000

These Saturday hikes are becoming a bit of a tradition, as our daughter spends a few hours in gymnastics and we explore our surroundings one trail at a time.

On this Saturday we returned to Leadmine Road, where we had previously parked to explore the Heins Farm property. This time, though, we descended onto the trails which explore the Leadmine conservation area which borders Old Sturbridge Village. A trail map can be seen on the Friends of Sturbridge Trails website.

Old Sturbridge Village

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 22:10:23 +0000

My wife and I had a babysitter lined up for Tuesday night and decided to go for a quick walk before our dinner out (at our favorite local restaurant Cedar Street Grille). She knew just what to suggest – a quick lap around her walking trail at Old Sturbridge Village. She comes here on a regular basis with her best friend and was curious how many miles she was actually burning on each lap. MapMyHike in hand, we took a quick tour and learned it was a 1.44 mile loop, rather than the “about a mile” she was assuming before.

Westville Dam – Sturbridge and Southbridge

Sun, 21 Sep 2014 20:07:19 +0000

A surprise hike took us to Westville Dam today with a friend and his family (after gorging on a breakfast buffet in honor of his 37th birthday). There were six of us who burned off the breakfast calories at a recreational area which I’d previously done some biking at.

We did a three mile loop which starts at the parking area, follows a rail trail’s wide easy grade, then crosses a dam and follows some steep peaks and valleys before looping back. The trail crosses between Sturbridge and Southbridge and follows along a recreational area where people picnic in the summer months. It also borders a popular spring fly-fishing location (noted for later…).

Wells State Park – Sturbridge

Sat, 20 Sep 2014 20:48:09 +0000

Our lovely daughter has a gymnastics class that takes up a few hours mid-day on Saturday. Even after pausing for lunch, we still have some time to get in a hike (or run some errands, or clean the house, but you know, hiking makes for more interesting blog posts), which is what we did on this day.

We’ve explored Wells State Park a few times since we moved out here, but we hadn’t been in a few years. You can check out the trail map on the state web page here.

Heins Farm – Sturbridge

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 19:26:39 +0000

Today, I took the day off from work to spend with my wife, celebrating her birthday (which was earlier this week). While our daughter spent the day at school, we went on a mid-day hike exploring the Heins Farm property in Sturbridge, MA. You can see a trail map at the Friends of Sturbridge Trails site.

It’s a beautiful property close to Old Sturbridge Village. There’s a trail designed for accessibility (The Pond Loop, 0.7 miles) as well as another 2.3 miles of trails in a variety of terrain from wooded to wild fields. We hiked the majority of the trails at an easy pace and would recommend this trail to all skill levels. It was quiet but only a stone’s throw from OSV and Route 20, making it a quick retreat close to home.