"Summited while hiking a 3 mile loop starting and finishing at the Audobon sanctuary. Clear view of the Catskills from the top. We think we saw Graylock from a viewpoint on the way up but weren't sure. " — SteveG • May 31, 2026

"Beautiful weather after two days of extreme wind, with temperatures in the low 40s. Parking at the Prospect Road lot is $6. Most of the trails were dry with occasional patches of ice and snow, but the trails on the north side of the two hills are still fairly icy. We set off from the parking lot just after 12:15, walked northwest along Prospect Road, then turned right onto a bike bath to enter Ward Reservation. Our first detour took us onto a boardwalk with an overlook of the frozen Mars Swamp. Further along Margaret’s Trail, we also stopped at a viewing area for Rubbish Meadow, which was also mostly frozen over. Continuing clockwise around the reservation, we hit a stream crossing with high flowing water which was actually a little challenging. Afterwards, the trail began climbing Boston Hill. The snow and ice patches here were larger and more frequent, but nothing shoes with good traction couldn’t handle. The top of Boston Hill has clear views of Boston to the south and Holt Hill to the southwest, which was our next destination. The descent from Boston Hill was quick, as was the ascent up Holt Hill. We took Graham Trail on the eastern side which avoids all of the ice on the north..." — JCalautti • Mar 9, 2025

"Semi birding semi hiking loop through Blue Hills Reservation. Went past the summits of Hemenway and Hancock, but didn’t really summit them. Very beautiful forest, and the extremely rocky, steep climbs were unexpected to me after hiking dirt/dust trails in the SF Bay Area!" — sergeypavlov • Jun 29, 2024

"Warmest day of the year so far, gorgeous weather. Set off from Houghton's Pond and hiked all the hills west of Route 28 as well as Hawk Hill to round out the loop. Spent some time at the observatory at the top of the Great Blue Hill and learned about its history (longest continuous weather record in the US). Great 360-degree views from the top of the observatory, including the Boston skyline to the north, Mt. Wachusett to the west, the Monadnock Range and Mt. Watatic to the northwest, and the rest of the Blue Hills to the east." — JCalautti • Apr 15, 2024

"Incredible hike through the fire-thinned rocky heights. Although many of the trails were flooded from all the rain earlier in the week, it was very easy to bushwhack around the puddles. We were followed by a trio of white-tailed deer for the first couple miles who let us get very close. Make sure you keep track of time, because the police are not kidding when they say the park closes at sunset." — JCalautti • Apr 5, 2024