Willowdale State Forest

July 4, 2020 Sunny

Willowdale State Forest borders Bradley Palmer State Park on the south side, and Georgetown-Rowley State Forest on the north side. The Bay Circuit Trail goes through all three parks. Seeing that we could do two parks at once, we decided to choose a trail that’s closest to Georgetown-Rowley State Forest.

We parked at the trailhead of Marker #70 on the Bay Circuit Trail, near Hood Pond where people were fishing and boating. There is only enough parking for 1 car, and beyond the gate, the trail was narrow. We were soon surrounded by ferns.

We saw a few mountain bikers, but not many hikers. This section of the park did not seem to be very popular. It was hot and humid, and there were a lot of mosquitoes. We soon saw why. We were walking on a ridge, with both sides dropping into swamps.

There were many side trail, but we followed the well-marked Bay Circuit Trail.

The trail narrowed again as we got closer to the road separating Willowdale State Forest and Georgetown-Rowley State Forest, but also seemed rockier.

Overall, this trail in Willowdale was relatively flat and quite featureless. There was not a lot that’s memorable. On the other hand, it might just be the trail for someone seeking solitude.

A pretty unremarkable trail that follows a ridge within the forest.
Just another trail in the forest but hot and buggy. Quiet for a reason.
Day 324 of hiking in the vast, unexplored, wilderness. The mosquitos have evolved to bite through clothing, it appears. More updates later.
The trail was thin and there were a lot of bugs and it was hot.
There was still a bunch of bugs, it was hot, and it was kind of narrow.