Sturbridge

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. ...

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. ...

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…). ...

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. ...

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. ...