Middlesex Fells Reservation

July 14, 2019 Sunny

Middlesex Fells Reservation is a large collection of parks, trails, and ponds north of Boston. We visited Spot Pond Reservoir and Crystal Spring Trail.

Our first stop was the boat rental at Spot Pond Reservoir. They have canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, row boats, and small sailboats for renting, and they also offer lessons. We opted for a large canoe for the four of us. The rental process was painless and very fast. There were no crowds and no lines.

The Pond is fairly small. There are two bigger islands – Great Island and Bold Point. A 10-minute paddle from the boat ramp brought us to Great Island, where we stepped onto a stony shore and had a picnic. The island was full of goose poop though, so the kids were a little grossed out.

Along the way we saw many water fowls. Again, not many people on the water, although the pond borders I-93 and the noise from the Interstate was very annoying.

We rowed all around for about an hour, and explored almost the whole pond. We saw people fishing on the shores.

Our next stop was the Crystal Spring Trail. The trail was rocky at places, shady and flat for the most part. There were many side trails and short-cuts, but in general the trails were well marked.

The only interesting thing we saw was this Split Rock. The trail was unremarkable, and sometimes ventured close to parking lots, houses, or playgrounds. It might be a pleasant little walk if you live nearby, but nothing special.

Canoeing around the pond and islands provided plenty of fun. But the trails were pretty ordinary.
Boating was fun. Trails were unremarkable.
The boating was good and so was the hike.
The hike was pretty. The boating was fun boating.