Hearing that the Blue Hills has 150 miles of trails that are great for mountain conditioning hikes; we decided to head on up to check it out. We first started out at the trailside museum where we bought a map for $2, looked through the gift shop and viewed some of the free outdoor animal exhibits featuring native wildlife such as white-tailed deer, a river otter, turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, and a snowy owl.
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| Red Tailed Hawk |
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| White Tailed Deer |
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| Snowy Owl Exhibit |
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| River Otter |
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| Turkey Vultures |
We then began our hike up the red dot trail to the weather observatory on the summit of Great Blue Hill. This trail is listed as rugged & rocky over hilly terrain providing a more challenging hike; ahhh just what we're looking for.
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| Cristy at the Red Dot Trailhead |
It wasn't long before we reached the observatory. The Red Dot is all the things they described it to be but very short, not much more that .5 miles.
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| Observatory, Summit of Great Blue Hill |
Founded in 1885 by Abbott Lawrence Rotch as a private scientific center for the study and measurement of the atmosphere, it was the site of many pioneering weather experiments and discoveries. The earliest kite soundings of the atmosphere in North America in the 1890s and the development of the Radiosonde in the 1930s occurred at this historic site
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| Cristy at the Kite Shed |
After a water & snack break we decided to hike the popular 4.0 mile Blue Skyline loop. This trail loop will summit 5 hills before it's complete which means lot's of up's and down's.
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| Heading down Great blue into the valley |
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| Easy grade of the Skyline Loop |
Cristy is always cautions not to get her feet wet. I may give her the Trail name 'Tippy Toes' if she keeps this up, lol
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| Small brook crossing |
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| Skyline Loop Blaze |
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| Rocky Terrain |
We reached the halfway point exiting the trail at the park headquarters. This is where we stopped for lunch and a bathroom break. A restroom is located in the rear of the headquarters building in the background.
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| Halfway |
The trail re-enters the woods behind the park headquarters and begins to climb steeply to the top of Hancock Hill.
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| Hikers taking in the view |
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| Crossroad of multiple trails, almost back |
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| Final ascent back up Great Blue Hill to complete the Skyline Loop |
We enjoyed hiking here and will most likely return to explore the many more miles of trails on the reservation. For more information on this location you can click on the links below.
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| Summit Panorama |
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