Tag Archives: avoiding crowds

by | August 27, 2021 · 4:14 pm

Diamond Hill Reservoir, Cumberland, RI

A hot day offered spectacular views of the Diamond HIll Reservoir in Cumberland, RI, and the fluffy clouds above

Summer heat is not my favorite, and it’s been a hot, wet summer for lots of us. Rather than drive a long ways to get out on our bike, we left straight from our yard and chose to return to road biking, which we did a lot of last year in the height of the pandemic. Our goal? The Diamond HIll Reservoir in Cumberland, RI, just a few miles from home, despite our living over the state line in another town. We are back to #avoidingcrowds and learned that road biking, rather than navigating our beloved rail trails, offers some unexpected delights, and provides for much less interaction with others right now.

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by | April 8, 2021 · 3:49 pm

Edmands Park, Newton offers Easy Walks

What remains of the old skating pond, now filled in wetlands

We visited family on a recent weekend and as we approached our family’s home we noticed that few others were at Edmands Park on Blake Street. We headed over there to do an afternoon explore and found wide, level trails that provided very Easy Walking. My husband grew up within walking distance of here, so he spent lots of time here as a kid. But his memories of the park are quite different from what we found on our recent visit.

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by | February 22, 2021 · 4:38 pm

Gate 22, West Boyleston, snow shoeing

Overlooking the Wachusett Reservoir from Gate 22

While we typically have a destination in mind, especially after recent snow, when we spotted a plowed parking area and trail kiosk, we quickly turned around to go back and investigate. While numbers for contracting Covid have been decreasing, we are still doing what we can to #avoidcrowds, so seeing just a few cars in the lot, we decided this was worth exploring. Gate 22, a fire road providing access to the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston, looked like a good place to explore.

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by | February 1, 2021 · 3:42 pm

Southborough-Breakneck Hill

Lovely views from Breakneck Hill, along with wide trails

When recently in Southborough, we saw an additional piece of open space within walking distance of where we had just explored. We stopped by to get a look, to see if this would be a good place to bring elder parents. In fact, this might not be a great place for unsteady elders in rather cold weather, but for those of us looking for Easy Walks, willing to dress in layers and willing to climb some gently sloping hills, and back down the same slopes, Breakneck Hill in Southborough is a great spot to spend a few hours.

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by | January 21, 2021 · 5:33 pm

Avoiding crowds in Westport and Dartmouth,MA

Phragmites in the marshland next to Ocean View Farm reservation, Dartmouth

We headed down near the shore to avoid ice on trails, and also because we knew of several places we wanted to check out that we had missed the last time we were in the area. Turns out there are even more open space trails to explore than we realized, which kept us busy exploring for several hours on a weekend morning. Our first stop was at a very small spot that offered views of the Westport River, the Mill Pond Conservation Area part of the Westport Land Conservation Trust and the Trustees of Reservation. The nicely laid out trail brings visitors through a young orchard quite near the street, offering the feel of walking through a local garden.

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by | January 20, 2021 · 12:06 pm

Walkup Reservation, Westboro, MA

The “Bossy Crossing” underneath the old trolley line railbed at Walkup Reservation

I first visited the Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) Walkup Reservation nearly five years ago when I was doing the field work for More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, a field guide I created to over fifty trails in the Upper Charles, Neponset, Assabet, and Sudbury river watersheds. Al Sanborn, who had lived in Westborough, was my guide for two of the sixteen towns I included in the book–Westborough and Grafton, and served as the caretaker for the Walkup Reservation for a number of years.

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by | December 30, 2020 · 4:11 pm

Finding Easy Walks in local cemeteries

Vine Lake Cemetery, Medfield, in winter

Making plans to meet a friend in Medfield, I immediately thought of a local cemetery with a beautiful lake, and paved roads wide enough to allow for space between any other walkers we might encounter. While we are officially into winter, the day was mild, and recent rain had washed all our local snow away, leaving roadways and paths ice free for the moment.

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by | December 29, 2020 · 12:15 pm

Handy Pond, Lincoln, RI winter walk

Handy Pond, Lincoln, RI

We walked alongside the Blackstone River the day prior to this walk and got views of the river at near flood level, more what we would expect in spring than in late December. But we also encountered more visitors than we wished. Perhaps for this outing a town-owned property with limited parking might offer the solitude we craved? Handy Pond, (actually Rochambeau Pond, according to a reliable source) along Old River Road in Lincoln, RI was our pick, a first visit to what turned out to be an extended trail network through woodland, with views of the pond, as well as several stream crossings.

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by | December 16, 2020 · 3:45 pm

The Cape in late fall

River headed to the sea at Long Pasture, Audubon, in Barnstable

Lucky for our family, we have practiced #avoidingcrowds for years, and yet even we are struggling this year to figure out where to go where lots of others are not. We avoid visiting Cape Cod in warmer months specifically because of how busy the area is. But late fall, early December on the Cape seemed like a good bet for meeting up with fewer people as we continue to strive to stay healthy in the midst of the pandemic.

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by | November 23, 2020 · 3:12 pm

Finding Easy Walks at Powissett Farm, Dover

2020 has been a challenging year for most of us, and certainly more challenging for some than others. For those of us lucky enough to have kept healthy, we are keenly aware that often, remaining healthy has come at the cost of incredibly loneliness. and facing a different Thanksgiving, we wondered if we could do something different to help ease the loneliness just a little. Easy Walks lend themselves to time with older family members. It works for me too. The day promised to be overcast, and rather than plan a shortened visit, we suggested family meet us at a local trail where we could enjoy time taking an Easy Walk together.

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