| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Noanet Peak , MA |
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 | Trails: |
Caryl Loop, Noanet Peak Trail, Peabody Loop |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, June 5, 2025 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
I parked at the northern end across from Chickering Fields by another athletic field where the parking is for Caryl Park. This is on Dedham St a 1/2mi east of Centre St in Dover. I think the lot was dirt but accessible for any car. It was mostly full (though this was for a soccer game, not for hiking) when I arrived shortly before 7pm and there was just one other car just shy of 9:30pm. I believe there were signs indicating that they did not want you hiking there past dark…oops! There’s another athletic field just a 1/4mi west that was less busy and could be a spot for overflow parking. Trails start here as well which connect you to the ones you need for redlining. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Where Noanet Brook flows out of the SW end of Sawmill Pond, theres beaver flooding. Unless you’re brave enough to cross this, I don’t think there were any water crossings that weren’t bridged. If there were, they were insignificant. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Caryl Loop is blazed in red, Noanet Peak Trail in yellow, and Peabody Loop in blue. Blazing is not very frequent but trails are not hard to follow. Small leaner followed by a mid-sized step over 5min later that I believe were both on the western section of Noanet Peak Trail between the trail that shortcuts to the summit and the Caryl Loop Trail, one at the start, one at the end. If they weren’t on it, they would have been at the very end of the stick part of the Caryl Loop and on the shortcut to the summit. Mid-sized easy old stepover on the lower western section of Noanet Peak Trail south of the shortcut to the summit. Another easy stepover on the way down the north side of Noanet Peak and one of Peabody Loop near Sawmill Pond. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are allowed but must be leashed they are not allowed at Lower Mill Pond. |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitos were horrific. I think the highlight of the hikes was seeing someone up trail flailing wildly, wondering what sort of a whack-job I was about to run into, then relaxing that it was someone with one of those battery powered big swaggers. The sound those things make…yikes! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Another post-work hike, this time to redline all the trails in the Noanet Woodlands area. My route: the stick part of Caryl Loop (note that the guidebook calls this Caryl Trail but according to the maps there, it’s part of Caryl Loop and there is no Caryl Trail) —> Noanet Peak Trail —> OAB to summit along direct route described in the guidebook —> Noanet Peak Trail —> Peabody Loop with an OAB on the stick part of the loop to the parking area on Powissett St —> Caryl Loop (eastern section) —> OAB on western section of Caryl Loop and mini loop around Lower Mill Pond for redlining purposes —> Caryl Loop (stick part) back to car.
Note that on the western part of Caryl Loop, the trail splits in its southern-middle portion. The left/west branch is the true trail. I think it was marked/blazed coming from the north end but it was unclear which way to go from the south. Similarly, on the west side of the loop, the trail splits but this time you want to stay on the east side of it instead. The map makes this clear. There was a trail on the east side of the peak that was signed as Noanet Peak Trail but was obviously not part of the loop. I’m guessing that it’s an old sign before the loops were defined as they are currently. Open, but not much to see in terms of views from Noanet Hill. Peabody Loop is completely flooded and impassable on the SW side of Sawmill Pond for a few dozen feet at least. There’s another trail here that you can easily take around to the other side of the flooding. Other than that, I think the trails were mostly dry but I don’t recall terribly well. Gaia had me at 7.3mi, 500ft of gain, 2.5hrs. |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2025-06-09 |
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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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