Upcoming Hikes

Sunday, Dec. 6, 10:00 am - Chickatawbut Section Hike
FBH joint hike with AMC. 7 mile hike in the wildest and most remote area of the Blue Hills. 5.5 hours. Meet at Shea Ice Rink. Leader: Steve Olanoff, 781-326-6585.

Saturday, Dec. 12, 10:00 am - Little Blue Hill Nature Walk
FBH joint hike with AMC. 3 mile hike in the least-known section of the Blue Hills to look for signs of birds and animals in winter. 2 hours. Meet at rear of Park-&-Ride lot on Rte. 138. Leader: Steve Olanoff, 781-326-6585.

Sunday, Jan. 10, 10:00 am - Ponkapoag Pond Hike
FBH joint hike with AMC. X-C ski or hike if no snow 6 miles around pond. 5 hours. Meet at Ponkapoag Golf Course. Leader: Steve Olanoff, 781-326-6585.

Houghton Re-route

Don't panic when you see the construction at Houghton's Pond. You can still enjoy the walking paths, you'll just have to take a few detours. Click here to see a map of the re-routes.

Check out our past post for details on the construction project.

Yellow-rumped warbler

If you'd like to see some photos of a yellow-rumped warbler in the Blue Hills, check out this webpage.

And let us know what else you see!

Temporary Brookwood Barn

For the last couple of weeks, North Bennet School students have been re-building a model of the English 18th century barn that was originally on the site. The students are practicing replicating the original two-bay building with wide pine vertical siding, shake roof and dry-laid field stone foundation. North Bennet’s Steven O’Shaughnessy said the students have already milled thousands of board feet of pine and oak sheathing and hand hewed white oak sills and joists.

According to DCR staff, North Bennet School was given a permit to build this temporary barn as a training opportunity for students, but the barn will be dismantled when it is completed. DCR is still consulting with state agencies and community groups to determine whether to re-build the barn as it was in the 18th century, or whether to rebuild it the with additions that were added later in the 19th century.

Updated Blue Hills Maps

The DCR Blue Hills Reservation, in cooperation with the Trailside Museum Charitable Trust, is proud to present our newly revised trail map and guide. This map and guide printed September 2009 contains the latest official DCR trail and park information.

Please note, there are a few changes since the last printing in August 2008, including:

• Added red dot color-coded trail loop from Houghton’s Pond to Buck Hill
• Added yellow dot color-coded trail loop off West Street in Braintree
• Minor reroute of Skyline Trail around a wet area near Wildcat Notch to reduce trail erosion
• Removal of green dot loop color coding at Little Blue Hill

DCR strongly encourages all park visitors to upgrade to the new mapfor the latest trail improvements and official park information.

The new trail maps are for sale for $2 each at the DCR Blue Hills Reservation headquarters at 695 Hillside Street in Milton and at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum at 1904 Canton Avenue in Milton. Please contact Ranger Maggi Brown at 617-698-1802, ext. 213, if you have any questions or would like a complete list of 2009 edits.

In addition a free DCR Blue Hills Reservation profile brochure is also available, with general information about facilities and features within the reservation. The free Blue Hills profile brochure does not include a trail map but does show a locator map to key parking areas and other features in the park.

For additional DCR info please visit www.mass.gov/dcr

Hike Suggestions

In the Patriot Ledger, Wayne Westcott recommends the Blue Hills as a great place for hiking:

If you prefer a more challenging terrain without paved pathways, then I suggest a trip to the Blue Hills Reservation. You will find numerous trails for all levels of physical ability, carefully marked for beginning, intermediate and advanced hikers. The trails are dirt and rock, with an abundance of small to large obstacles on the tougher trails, which require attention to foot placement and a fair degree of fitness for successful navigation.

For the full article, click here. For other hike suggestions, visit our recommended hike page.

Houghton's Pond Construction

There's quite a bit of activity at Houghton's Pond, including some rerouting and detours around the pond. While the visitor center and restrooms are still open, the DCR has hired a contractor for $748,000 to upgrade the sewer system to the Houghton's Pond bath house.

Here's the details of the project:

The work to be done under this contract consists of the installation of a new sanitary sewer system for DCR’s Houghton’s Pond Bathhouse in Blue Hills Reservation, Milton, MA.

The work includes closure and disposal of existing subsurface sewage systems; supply and installation of a six inch diameter force main and a two inch diameter force main and sanitary sewer connections; supply and installation of a sewage ejection pump and chamber, supply and installation of electrical and other utilities.

The Contractor will carry out the work with two separate and complete installation crews. One crew will commence work at the end of the new 6” diameter force main on Hillside Street. The other crew shall commence work at the Bathhouse end of the new 6” diameter force main.

An existing 2 inch diameter sewer is located on Hillside Street. It conveys sewage from DCR’s Blue Hills Reservation offices and also from the State Police barracks. To maintain sewer service, the Contractor will lay by-pass piping and replace the 2 inch sewer. The new force main and new 2 inch sewer will be laid in the same trench.

To ensure that all work is completed before the beach season at Houghton’s Pond, the contractor will complete all the work by May 21, 2010.