Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
None, MA |
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 | Trails: |
Old Ferry Road, Merrimack River Trail, Castle Hill Trail, Main Rd, Curzon Mill Road |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, January 19, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I paid some awful amount of money to park at the main Maudslay State Park entrance. Don't do this. You can park at the end of Old Ferry Road (I didn't know this and so parked at a small dirt parking area shown on Gaia at the jct of Spring Road and Old Ferry Road; both these lots only have room for a few cars and the one I was in was mostly full at 2:15pm). |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
None |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trail work needs to be done west of Flowering Pond. Trail is blocked off and there's a mess of some blowdowns. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are allowed on a leash. |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
No trail signs or junctions and there's hardly a marker for Merrimack River Trail. See my rant below.
Third and final hike of the day after redlining the trails on Crane Beach and the Hellcat Trail in Parker National Wildlife Refuge and man what a pain in the ass it was. Major issues with redlining this trail are that 1) it's not marked (I saw maybe two old small circles tacked to trees that said "Merrimack River Trail"), 2) it's been rerouted, and 3) portions of it seem to be closed. That being said, the map I posted a link to below should be a big help as I hope my words are here.
First, I parked in the main lot (paid) and walked trails down to the river to intersect the trail. I turned left to follow it down to Curzon Mill Rd as where exactly the trail was in there was unclear to me, but the trail seemed to be blocked with a small fence (later I decided I didn't care). I returned to my car, found a map online, looked at the map posted at the park (which is inaccurate) then tried picking up the start of the trail off Curzon Mill Rd. Everywhere Gaia and the maps seemed to say it started, there were signs asking you not to enter. I finally gave up and drove to where I said I parked above and hiked from the north end instead.
I walked down Old Ferry Road to Merrimack River Trail (I think there may have been one small marker where is started), then where the trail bears right to coincide with Laurel Walk, it is closed/rerouted as described in the guidebook due to falcon/eagles/whatever nesting, and meets back up with Merrimack River Trail by Flowerering Pond. Not too long thereafter, there is some fencing that partially blocks the trails entrance into shrubbery. At first, I thought this was just to prevent bikers from getting in there but it eventually became clear due to blowdowns and all that they are trying to block access to this part of the trail. I continued SW along the Merrimack River to the main house site, meandered around a little, then followed the trail down to Curzon Mill Rd as shown on Maudslay State Park's online map (this map is accurate less the trail closures). As I walked along Curzon Mill Rd, I was lucky enough to meet one of the landowners who explained the trail reroutes and property issues to me. He was kind enough to give me a little tour of the property too. I walked the road down to the bridge over the Artichoke River , then walked back along Curzon Mill Rd and Spring Lane to my car. The landowner made it sound like you could walk trails on the other side of Artichoke River but there was a private property sign down here so I turned around just before reaching the river.
My advice to you. Either do what I did and park at the north end and traverse south, then walk back along the road, or, if you start on the south side, be sure you start at Artichoe River where the current trail begins according to the map (again, don't expect to see anything for signage), walk 0.4mi to the "Main Drive" as shown on Gaia, turn left and walk behind the gate and follow the trail as shown on the map. The online map is not oriented to the north so it's a little difficult to immediately reconcile with a GPS. Gaia had me at 5mi, 200ft of gain, 2hrs, but this was with a tour of the property on the south side. Please bear in mind that the land on the south side is not open to the public and please respect all signage. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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 | Date Submitted: |
2025-02-04 |
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 | Link: |
https://www.friendsofmaudslay.org/_files/ugd/7842df_b8e14288eebf47538d675bcf688833cf.pdf |
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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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