Middlesex Fells Skyline Trail

Date: June 13, 2009
Trail: Skyline Trail

This past weekend, to start to get ourselves into good hiking shape (and to break in some new hiking boots), Karen and I decided to head to Middlesex Fells in Medford to do the Skyline Trail. The reservation is about 10 minutes north of Boston, and very conveniently located right off Route 93. The skyline trail is just over 7 miles long, and throughout the hike there is over 1,000 feet of elevation gain - which is pretty impressive for a reservation so close to Boston. The trail is a loop that traverses the outskirts of the main section of the park, and climbs and descends several sets of hills, which together create the large elevation gain.

We started the loop climbing the hill to Wright's Tower, which is atop a hill just inside the reservation and overlooks Boston. Climbing through the woods, you don't really realize how close you are to Boston until you get to Wright's Tower. Once on top, you basically are looking straight down on 93 and out to the Boston skyline. The picture gives an idea, but it doesn't do justice to show just how close it is to downtown. The hike up to the tower is on a wide, well laid trail and takes only about 15 minutes. From this point the Skyline trail begins, and starts to go into a more wooded part of the Fells.

It was at this point that the hike started to feel less like a city hike and more like a true hike in the woods, as before long we could no longer see the roads around us and were surrounded by trees. One of the coolest parts of the hike was all the different types of wildlife in the reservation - in particular, the different types of frogs. Throughout the hike we saw all different types and sizes of frog. It always came unexpectedly, when we'd be walking and all of a sudden we'd see a frog jump out from next to us. Not something you see every day around the city, so it was definitely a cool addition to the hike.

Throughout the hike, there were a number of pretty steep upward climbs, which gave us the chance to help get ourselves into shape for hikes to come in the White Mountains. We finished the hike in about four and a half hours, and though we definitely had more stamina in us, we felt like we got a good workout. It was a great hike for being so close to home.