15 Great New England Hikes

The city is great, but everyone needs a taste of the outdoors from time to time. Here are some of the best places to hike in New England.
Text from LocalAttitudes Outdoor Guides

Mass Audubon’s Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Topsfield

Owing to the sheer size of the sanctuary, you are unlikely to meet many people on the trails; the Ipswich River crosses the southern part of the sanctuary, and Mass. Audubon members can rent canoes to explore the marshes.

Mass Audubon’s Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, 87 Perkins Row, Topsfield. www.massaudubon.org.

Cost:$4
Duration:Full day

The Skyline Trail at Middlesex Fells Reservation, Medford

Middlesex Fells is as close to wilderness as it can get for a reservation less than 30 minutes away from one of the country’s largest cities. Touring the Fells on the Skyline Trail, you may sometimes believe you are deep in the woods of New Hampshire. Indeed, do not mistake the Skyline Trail for a quick afternoon walk. At about 7 miles in length, it is a real hike that can take most of a day if you like to stop frequently.

The Skyline Trail at Middlesex Fells Reservation, Bellevue Pond, Medford. www.fellsbiker.com.

Cost:Free
Duration: Half day/full day

Mount Misery, Lincoln

The Mount Misery area in Lincoln is an open, lively place where everyday life continues at the slower pace of the countryside. On these trails, you feel more like visiting some farms away in the north than exercising with fellow urbanites on overused paths. Though close to Boston, Lincoln is therefore a great place to breathe after a hard week and to reconnect with the outdoors.

Mount Misery, Lincoln. www.trails.com.

Cost:Free
Duration: Half day

Cape Cod’s Lietenant Island, Wellfleet

Away from the crowds, Lieutenant Island is an area off the beaten track, which offers a unique environment for a hike along the shore. A small hill dotted with a few summer homes tucked beneath the pines, the island is connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway and an old wooden bridge.

Cape Cod’s Lietenant Island, Wellfleet. www.trails.com.

Cost: $5
Duration: Full day

Plum Island, Newburyport

Plum Island is a 6-mile long barrier beach that extends south of Newburyport. Most of it makes up the Parker River Wildlife Refuge, which nearly 300 bird species visit seasonally. This long hike will take you through the extraordinary diversity of Plum Island scenery.

Plum Island, Newburyport. www.newburyportchamber.org.

Cost:$5 per person/$2 walk-in
Duration: Half day/full day

Myles Standish Forest, S. Carver

Myles Standish is one of the largest and most remarkable forests in Massachusetts. Its vegetation is also very different from that found elsewhere in the state: With many pitch pines and scrub oaks, it very much looks like the woods encountered on Cape Cod and the islands.

Myles Standish Forest, Cranberry Road, S. Carver. www.massgov.com.

Cost: Free
Duration: Full day

Noanet Peak, Dover

This is Boston’s best kept secret for hiking. Less than an hour away from the city, Dover’s Noanet Woodlands delivers nearly the same excitement as larger reservations like Blue Hills, but with a more diverse environment of woodlands, pine forests, meadows, and ponds and a quieter setting away from major highways.

Noanet Peak, Dedham Street, Dover. www.thetrustees.org.

Cost: Free
Duration: Full day

The Acorn Trail at Great Brook Farm State Park, Carlisle

Carlisle’s Acorn Trail offers a surprising feel of being quite far from the big city, and although not a difficult hike, it will be a nice workout for seasoned hikers. This loop takes you through cultivated fields and woodlands, following a narrow and winding trail through the forest and up a small hill. There is one main climb into the forest, and the trail can be rocky in places.

The Acorn Trail at Great Brook Farm State Park, 984 Lowell St., Carlisle. www.mass.gov.

Cost:$2
Duration: A few hours

The sand dunes on Crane Beach, Ipswich

Ipswich’s Crane Beach is managed for both conservation and recreation – wildlife and people. A key feature of Crane Beach is its dunes. Crane Beach is indeed one of the very few areas in New England where you can actually explore sand dunes through a trail network open to the public.

The sand dunes on Crane Beach, Argilla Road, Ipswich. www.thetrustees.org.

Cost: From $7 per car
Duration: Half day/full day

Hiking on Cape Cod National Seashore

The Cape Cod National Seashore, which spans the entire eastern shore of Cape Cod, is simply the best place in all New England to enjoy a long hike on the beach. Actually, few other countries can boast a similar setting, with more than 20 miles of uninterrupted beach. The Nauset Marsh Trail bridge, howeber. was destroyed in a 2012 storm. The trail is still open during replacement work but check at the Salt Pond visitor Center for current conditions before heading out.

Cape Cod National Seashore. www.nps.gov.

Cost:Free
Duration: Full day

Skyline Trail at Blue Hills Reservation, Milton

Blue Hills Reservation in Milton is certainly the best destination for hikers looking for a great experience without the hassle of driving for 3 hours to New Hampshire or Maine. It has more than 125 miles of trails for all levels, in a setting that is surprisingly rugged and challenging.

Skyline Trail at Blue Hills Reservation, 695 Hillside St., Milton. www.mass.gov.

Cost: Free
Duration: Full day

The Great Island Trail, Wellfleet

The Great Island Trail in Wellfleet is one of those magical places along Cape Cod Bay, balancing between land and sea; you will walk in a pine forest one moment and see algae on the trail the next moment. Definitely one of the best places for hiking in New England, and a must for those who like solitude.

The Great Island Trail, Wellfleet. www.nps.gov.

Cost:Free
Duration: Full day

The direct route to Mount Monadnock, Jaffrey, N.H.

Considering that it is relatively close to Boston, we believe New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock offers the best trek opportunities in New England — summits in the White Mountains are farther away and require longer climbs before emerging above timberline. Overall, there are 40 miles of hiking trails across the Monadnock State Park.

Mount Monadnock, Route 124, Jaffrey, N.H. www.nhstateparks.org.

Cost: $3 per person
Duration: Full day

Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Wellfleet

The Wellfleet Sanctuary offers miles of trails in a preserved environment of meadows and wetlands – definitely worth the trip from Boston. Trails are not extremely long (around 5 miles for our hike) but offer great views and many opportunities to stop and just relax on the grass.

Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, 291 State Highway, Route 6, Wellfleet. www.massaudubon.org.

Cost:5 per person
Duration: Full day

Hale Reservation, Westwood

This is another one of Boston’s lesser known outdoors areas and a perfect spot for hiking. Located in Westwood, about 10 miles southwest of Boston, and easily reachable from Route 128, crisscrossed by a good trail network, Hale is the place to go if you have a few hours on your hands and want to get some fresh air and a good workout outside.

Hale Reservation, 80 Carby St., Westwood. www.halereservation.org.

Cost: Free
Duration: A few hours