Fall Hiking in Southern New England

I can't even begin to think about Fall hiking in Southern New England with out the Blue Hills Reservation in Boston, MA coming to mind. The Great Blue Hill is part of the 7000-acre Blue Hills Reservation. It is the highest point in Norfork County at 635 feet and has 125 miles of trails. You can get a trail map on-line or at Reservation Headquarters. My family likes to start out at Reservation Headquarters and hike up the South Skyline Trail. It is a strenuous climb so remind your kids to start off slow and conserve their energy. Along the way there will be decisions to make. Do you take the steep rocky staircase or the well worn path? My kids like to take the staircase up and the path on the way back. It is a challenging climb, but once you get to the top and get a glimpse of the Boston skyline, you'll agree it's worth it!

For a less challenging hike think about Borderland State Park in Easton, MA. The first thing you will notice to the right when pulling into Borderland is the stone mansion or "The Princess Castle" as my four year old calls it. This mansion was built in the early 1900's for Oakes and Blanche Ames. The property remained in the Ames family for 65 years. In 1971, two years after Blanche's death, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the land and opened it as a state park. There are 1,773 acres with 20 miles of hiking trails to explore. You can get a trail map on-line or at the Visitor's Center. My family enjoys taking some of the lesser used paths through the woods. We take our time and look for interesting plants, mushrooms and insects. Often in our travels we will come across a Park Ranger who is more than willing to answer our questions and give us information on the different animals and insects you can find at Borderland.

Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, MA is a fun place to hike with kids. Purgatory Chasm was formed at the end of the last Ice Age approximately 14,000 years ago. There is a quarter mile long chasm with 70 foot high granite walls. Kids enjoy scrambling over the boulders on the chasm floor, exploring the caves and channels and checking out the different rock formations with fun names like "Devil's Coffin", "Lover's Leap" and "Fat Man's Misery". We like to take the Chasm Loop Trail the full length of the gorge then we go onto Charlie's Loop trail which takes you along the cliffs. If hiking with little ones you may want to take the trail through the woods as it does not require the constant supervision of the Cliff walk.

Cape Cod Canal has lots to offer. You may not think of it immediately for Fall hiking, but there is so much to see here! We like to start out at the Bourne Scenic Park and make our way along the Bournedale Interpretive Trail to Herring Run Recreation Area. The Bournedale Hills Trail is 1.4 miles long. The trail includes a .8 mile self guided loop which interprets the Canal's historic and natural features. You can watch all different types of ships and boats make their way along the Cape Cod Canal.

Southern New England is a beautiful place to explore regardless of the time of year, however Fall is all the more beautiful with all the colors of the foliage.