Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
| Peaks |
Acton Conservation Land , MA |
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| Trails: |
Nashoba Brook Loop, Davis Road, Bruce Freeman Rail Trail |
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| Date of Hike: |
Monday, May 29, 2023 |
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| Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Mid-sized parking area at the end of Wheeler Lane. Dirt and easily accessible for any vehicle. Maybe a couple other cars as I came and went; the lot never filled up. |
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| Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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| Recommended Equipment: |
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| Water Crossing Notes: |
Bridged or otherwise trivial |
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| Trail Maintenance Notes: |
I don’t recall any blowdowns. Jcts are signed. TTT (Trail Through Time) markers mark the trails but the main loop was also blazed in yellow. I don’t think the spur to Robbins Mill was actually blazed in red but all trails were easy to follow. |
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| Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are allowed |
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| Bugs: |
Not bad. Even without bug spray, when I stopped, they were only a minor nuisance. I picked up my first known deer tick of the year but not sure if it was here or on my hike earlier in the day. |
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| Lost and Found: |
None |
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| Comments: |
2nd hike of the day after redlining the trails required at Great Brook Farm (ignore the fallacious date of 5/27) on the way back from a little vacation in Monson, MA.
I highly recommend these trails! Easy, beautiful, and very interesting history! I throughly enjoyed it and there may even be enough to keep kids amused here as well :) Of particular interest to them would be the old stone chamber. I hiked the loop counterclockwise as described in the guidebook. Upon reaching Davis Rd, I walked south on it to Rt 2A which I then took to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail which I walked until the little spur shown on Gaia as “Red” connects to it, and then continued along the Nashoba Brook Loop. You have to crawl under or clamber over a fence though. The Davis Rd road walk is described with a distance in the guidebook so I’d say is needed for redlining.
The mess of trails could be confusing but the main loop that the guidebook seems to want you to do is the interior one; the signs at every jct help with this. I hiked the spur to the potential old “pest house” as well just for fun. Again, really interesting history here. After completing the loop, I did the very short spur to the mill, shown on Gaia. I’m now realizing that this is NOT the longer 0.5mi spur to the Robbins Mill Conservation Land needed for redlining so I guess I’ll have to go back to do that! Trails were mostly dry with a few drying mud pits, in one instance where the trail seems to be rerouted around it. Gaia had me at just under 4mi with just over 200ft of gain. |
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| Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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| E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-05-30 |
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| Link: |
https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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