Easy 1 hour out and back hike. Some spots slippery with ice on ground. Hiking boots recommended…read moreduring the winter. Fantastic scenery. Easy to see the gorge with more views if you go off trail a bit.

Great spot, great views. Fun to explore, family had a blast here. Looking forward to see it in…read moreevery season.

this is a cool spot to go on a walk. there's some places where the trail breaks off and there's…read morealso a loop path around the water which is rly nice! would recommend

This place is awesome!! Great trails but we technically only hiked for a half hour but beautiful…read moreand lush with trees and it wraps around a beautiful lake with kayak launching spots. I parked in the private lot that was next to the gated playground. Playground was small but had great stuff.

Easy to find. Small pakring lot for about 12 cars. I headed straight up to the top of the hill…read more It seems like it is about 10

This is a very popular spot for some easy climbing and hiking...a popular hangout for high…read moreschoolers as well. Lovely view from the top, the climb is steep but not difficult with wooden rails places up the trail to help with the climb. A few picnic areas with benches, streams and woided and rock trails, unmarked but easy to follow.

The lake is like a mirror. It blends into the blue sky and reflects the surrounding beauty. Walking…read morein the sun by the lake makes people feel relaxed and happy.

Came with the pupsels to walk around the reservoir. Though the website says open dawn to dusk, the…read moregate doesn't open until 10. So I had to park outside and walk in. Bonus - I saved the parking fee. The walk was pleasant. But lots of rocks and roots. So I constantly had to be looking at my feet. The trails aren't very well marked and there are lots of side trails that aren't on the map. It's hard to get lost there - just kept the reservoir on my right. But I was often wondering if I was headed in the right direction.

I first found out about this path when my boss took me here after work one day. He likes to go on…read morewalks to delay returning home when his psychotic girlfriend (according to him) or her psychotic 10yr old daughter (also, according to him) are too much to handle. Sometimes his goal is to wait for them to fall asleep, then go home. I duck out before it gets to that point. The Upper Charles River Trail will eventually be 24 miles long and through Milford, Ashland, Sherborn, Holliston, and Hopkinton. It's on an old CSX right of way. I believe the Milford section is the only section complete so far, roughly ~5 miles. I don't jog that long anyway, especially with the sunset getting earlier. I usually park at Fino Field and go the trail until it intersects Route 85 by the Sports Authority, then turn back. Round trip is ~4.5 miles GPSed. The trail is paved and has mile markers in 1/4 mile increments. Traffic is pretty light when I'm there; dusk, weekdays. I see more walkers and less bikers. There are unimproved trails through the woods that you can stumble into and I'm still exploring where they all go. Also, I believe what they call "Vietnam" has an entrance on the north end of the trail across US495. NEMBA actually owns it. (http://www.nemba.org/Articles/VietnamFAQs.html) I'd like to try Vietnam out, but reading reviews saying that there are "6 foot drops out of nowhere" kind of scares me.

Update: I frequent this trail weekly and try to go a few times a week and go in the mornings when I…read moredo. Since August there's been this young couple I want to say in their early twenties with a dog and they have extremely loud music that plays vulgar songs. I don't mean to be a stick in the mud but there are young children and elderly on this trail and they don't need to hear songs about "suck a f****** d***" and other terrible expletives that shouldn't be played at an OBNOXIOUS LEVEL. Not only this but I guess it's you can smoke on this trail even though people are there to exercise so it's pretty rude!! BUT THEY'RE SMOKING WEED! Again I understand weed is recreational now so it's fine and I don't care if people smoke but they were smoking a huge blunt as a mother and a kid and her infant in a stroller passed them and I felt awful as she gave me an odd look and I was behind them. Why do that? There are plenty of areas to go off and hide and smoke do you really have to do it and pass it to each other in front of everyone's children when they're trying to get exercise? It's so rude! Also pick up your dogs shit! I think there should be more police on foot on this trail since were right by the police station or something because I am avoiding this trail until next year they are ALWAYS there. I sat by the lake for almost 2 hours in hopes they would be gone but nope. There they were passing the trail again. Do they live in the woods?? What the hell. The guy always has a backpack and they wear sunglasses. A cute little trail that's pretty clean. Usually pleasant people on this trail for the most part consisting of moms with their kids and the like.

This is a great place to take an easy, mostly level, 3-mile walk around a beautiful pond. The trail…read morewhich is more like a single lane gravel road, is well marked and maintained. There also numerous, nicely marked trails off this main loop. It's a fairly quiet trail and easy enough that the occasional toddler and stroller passed. At one end of the trail, you need to walk a short way across a bridge under construction. There's not much of a sidewalk to use, but the traffic was very quiet during our weekend outing. According to their website, the initiation of Parklands acquisition was in 1899, and in 1900 the town brought in Warren H. Manning to help architect the entire layout.  There is no parking on the pond boat ramp or at the spaces next to  the bath house. This area is well-marked and the Hopedale Police Department will continue to ticket unauthorized and non-handicap vehicles parked in this area. This area is a drop-off zone only. Vehicles should be parked along Hopedale Street. We found plenty of parking on Hopedale Street, and used the green space there to lunch by the pond. There are benches scattered along the pond loop. Dogs are allowed on a leash and the trail is well marked, which according to their website is the result of the efforts of Mark Andolina, Jr., a Boy Scout from Hopedale Troop 1, who created a new trail map and installed new trail markers as part of his Eagle Scout project. We look forward to a return visit.

Great hike around the pond. the side trails off the main trail are good for mnt bike.read more

The whole place is amazing, especially the "castle". The trails are very well maintained, and VERY…read morewell marked. And the lake is beautiful. The best part is how amazing it is for dogs! Highly recommend!!

Borderland is a wonderful place. I usually only stay on the main trail for walking and running…read more Plenty of grass areas to play catch or picnic, plus benches and picnic tables throughout. Relaxing, quiet, and so many nice spots to enjoy the ponds, waterfall, spring noises of frogs, and foliage in the fall. I ride my bike or run or walk through regularly and enjoy it. I have also taken the kids to some of the mansion tours and the presentations about nature in the park building. Enjoyed those too.

It is a very beautiful, well-maintained park I only walked a mile so far, on a pleasant summer…read moreday, but will go back.

Noanet Woodlands is another favorite woodsy area to add to my list (another recent favorite is…read moreanother Trustees property in Andover, the Ward Reservation). The two are somewhat similar with different color coded trails and a trail to reach a summit for the skyline of Boston (I didn't check that out here at Noanet Woodlands for this trip). I enjoyed coming here on the weekend: it was moderately trafficked (which I like so it's not *too* isolated), and easy/moderate trails (I prefer long, ambling hikes). The only thing is that the orange trail I took was a bit confusing/not super clear. The overall system does a good job, but I would be sure to download a map/have AllTrails active to ensure you don't end up in the wrong spot. I fortunately ran into some folks who helped me get back on track, but a heads up that it could get confusing as it did for me. Otherwise, a wonderful shady (important to know on hotter days) set of trails that I would recommend!

What's not to like here? I suppose some may complain about…read morehaving to pay to park. Personally I'd like to see an option for those of us living in the Blackstone Valley (and others) to purchase an annual sticker. Similar to the way you might support a local zoo, for example. They would likely get higher donation amounts voluntarily, vs. the extortion-like pay-to-park each visit. Beyond the parking... For those seeking heat relief, on a hot summer day the low parts of the chasm are considerably cooler. Of course this does generally bring the crowds. Remember to bring bug spray. Children will be in awe of the rock formations and most will absolutely love climbing over, under and through the rocks, crevices and small caves. The rocks are normally slippery, more so after a rain or during the humid summer months - decent footwear is a must. Grandparents beware: not the best place to try to follow an 8 year old! However, across the street by the visitor center there's a nice playground for the kids to tire-out. If you want a longer/safer/less slippery hike you can follow Charlie's Loop trail in it's entirety (start by the covered picnic tables). Then maybe veer off onto the northwest side fire road. From there you can find a couple of trails that head back toward the parking lot. This is a great place to walk the dog(s) - leashed. Please pick up after your pet. Also a wonderful spot for snowshoeing - assuming we still get snow. re: parking - if you are local you might find a place over on Mendon Road, from which you can enter the park via the fire road (47CF+628).

Had been wanting to check this out all summer, but being a bit of a cheapo, I didn't want to pay…read morethe $20 non-resident parking fee. Now that its off-season and parking is free I checked it out. Wasn't disappointed. Some nice views, and a challenging, but not overwhelming hike. Will definitely have to come back sometime.

Not sure if I picked the wrong day or the wrong trail but my "hiking" experience in the Blue Hills…read morefell short. In general, there's not great hiking around Boston unless you keep doing the same trails in Milddlesex but I had heard a lot of good things about Blue Hills so off I went. 1. The Skyline trail, for being the most popular one, was extremely poorly marked. I'm glad I downloaded the AllTrails map ahead of time for the route because even with the map, I got turned around several times and had to scurry forward and back to try to find the markings. At one point, the markings disappeared completely, i.e., I was definitely off-trail, and I couldn't find my way back without committing to another rock scramble back down, so I just consulted the map, did another trail, and cut back to the same route a few minutes later. 2. So very, very buggy. Most of the time that I was walking, I was swatting a bug, trying not to eat a bug, or actually eating a bug. Not the most pleasant of hiking conditions but something avoidable by just coming later in the season when all the bugs are dead. Passed by some lakes that looked very scenic from a distance but then, when you get close, you see it's all pretty much stagnant water/pond scum and millions of mating bugs. 3. This may be relatively minor but if you're coming from Boston, the traffic to get over here is dreadful and, again depending on which starting point you use, there aren't bathrooms available. Plan accordingly. 4. Parking was free and easy - I went with the Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy and hopped right onto the trailhead from there. 5. Hiking shoes are fine but I think this hike is doable in sneakers. Aside from a scramble here or there, the elevation was pretty gradual. Do be careful of the various roots and whatnot. I guess the lesson is: bug spray and download the trail map. Unless you're fine making a day of it and trying different trails, but even so, download the map.

Very well maintained trails, great views, good woods scenery for all seasons. Highly recommended;…read moremap boards at trailheads are clear, and most trails are clearly marked.