Weekday

Our first hike of 2015 was a spur-of-the-moment excursion in Northboro, a town we once called home and where my mother still lives. We were already in town and ended up able to drop our daughter off with Grandma for a couple hours. I pulled up the Northboro Trails Committee website and looked for something close by. We ended up starting at the Coyote Trail, which meanders through the Yellick Conservation Area. You can read more about the area in this news article I found later, which pointed me nicely to this updated map. ...

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. ...

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. ...