Tag Archives: Easy Walks in Massachusetts

by | February 5, 2024 · 3:52 pm

Hiding in plain sight—New England ruins

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Triad bridge cement abutment, Blackstone, Massachusetts

I was asked to review a new book that will be published April 2, 2024, Hiking Ruins in Southern New England. It was gratifying to see that the authors, both archeologists, not only provided information about archeological remains along trails, but also included helpful maps and information about how to reach the various locations they pinpointed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Color photos convey a lot about what they categorize as ruins. In addition, they offered information about trail surfaces, a real gift to those of us with mobility challenges. This book made me want to get out and start checking these destinations off my list. Reading through the guide brought to mind multiple locations I have visited that feature similar ruins.

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by | January 19, 2024 · 2:42 pm

Beaver Pond Franklin, MA in winter

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Beaver Pond area in winter

Beaver Pond is quite close to downtown Franklin, MA, but feels a world away from the bustle of Dean College, churches, businesses, the town common, and the well-used commuter rail station. Rt. 495 skirts this conservation area, so quiet is not at the top of the list of attractions here. Despite the noise, the views are lovely, both from the beach area overlooking the water, and amidst the tree-lined path that skirts the edge of the pond.

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by | January 9, 2024 · 4:23 pm

Bicycle craze

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Out on our tandem during the Covid pandemic (Acadia National Park)

We humans are prone to “enthusiasms.” Even though we want to distinguish ourselves from others, being attracted to what “everyone else” is doing seems to be in our makeup. I saw this most recently during the Covid Pandemic that began in 2020. Suddenly deprived of indoor entertainment and ways of gathering safely, crowds headed outdoors and soon parks and trails were jammed with visitors. It became so bad that those overseeing these outdoor spaces felt forced to close them because of concern for contagion. We ourselves continued to ride our tandem bicycle, but shifted our habit of riding on rail trails, instead turning to quiet country roads to spend time outdoors away from crowds.

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by | December 2, 2023 · 2:42 pm

Exploring Paths in Norton, MA

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Canoe River, Norton, next to Norton town forest

Easy Walks South of Boston features six different destinations to visit when you are in the town of Norton. On a beautiful day in autumn I stopped by four of these open space properties to get some pictures of fall color. It was also an opportunity to see what my collaborators, Marilyn and Dave Doré, had discovered during their fieldwork for the book.

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by | November 15, 2023 · 4:16 pm

Stoughton MA trails

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Remnants of one of the quarries found at the Bird St. conservation area

One of the first things I learned about the trails at Bird St. Park in Stoughton, MA was that the best parking is not on Bird St. It’s on West St. OK, got it. Now to get there and head out on the trail.

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by | October 25, 2023 · 9:35 am

Powers Farm, Randolph MA

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Returning to where we have been before says a lot about our enjoyment level. Some are, for me, one and done. But I look forward to returning to others, like Powers Farm, Randolph, MA, when the opportunity presents itself.

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by | September 26, 2023 · 2:39 pm

Exploring Easy Walks South of Boston destinations

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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Swamp maples, early harbingers of autumn

The trail guide, Easy Walks South of Boston includes over fifty open space areas in seventeen contiguous towns south of Boston, thus the title. I recently visited several of these paths on a beautiful, blue-sky day in early fall. We saw touches of color but nothing like the show that awaits us in autumn in New England.

Over several months, Marilyn and Dave Doré, my collaborators, visited the 50+ destinations that now constitute this newest trail guide. I am endeavoring to visit many of these places in the coming month or so in preparation for upcoming Easy Walks presentations in various towns. The programs will be open to the public.

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by | September 15, 2023 · 10:00 am

Easy Walks South of Boston is out!

We have been working since this past spring on the newest trail guide, Easy Walks South of Boston. Now available in paperback or ebook. Marilyn and Dave Doré have collaborated with me to make this a great resource for folks looking for Easy Walks.

So….what’s an Easy Walk? Not too many roots or rocks, relativley level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way. That’s it.

If you live in these towns or want to visit, there’s an Easy Walk waiting for you: Avon, Abington, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, Dedham, Hanson, Holbrook, Norton, Norwood, Randolph, Rockland, Stoughton, Westwood, Whitman.

Marilyn and Dave Doré out on the trail

Here’s Marilyn’s essay about walking with her husband, who is legally blind. Please read it and understand what a labor of love this book is–for you or someone you know.

Interested in other areas? Here’s where you can peruse all the Easy Walks books and decide which one is best for you. Happy trails!

Marjorie

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors, and is the author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed, Easy Walks South of Boston and Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are. Her memoir, the backstory of Easy Walks, is My Liturgy of Easy Walks: Reclaiming hope in a world turned upside down.

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by | August 23, 2023 · 5:11 pm

War Memorial Park, West Bridgewater, MA

So much history in a small riverside park

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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War Memorial Park in West Bridgewater, MA looks like a small green space from the road. Well, …it is. Within its four+ acres is a lot to see. The Town River flows through the area, and as with so many rivers, and even streams in New England, the river was used as a power source for multiple industries through the years.

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by | August 21, 2023 · 5:30 pm

Rail trail explore in Rockland, MA

End of the line in Hanover, MA (for now)

Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

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We never know what we will find when visiting a new (to us) rail trail. The Hanover Branch, or Rockland Rail trail, mostly in Rockland, MA, is a work in progress. It is already a community resource, primarily for walkers, since it is relatively short for right now, (3+ miles end to end).

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