At 2,006ft Mount Wachusett in Central Massachusetts is more like a large hill than a mountain but is popular for hiking in the summer and fall, and skiing in the winter.

Mount Wachusett is technically a glaciated Monadnock which is a term reserved for a single mountain carved out by glaciers and located in an otherwise flat terrain.

It’s a popular field trip for surrounding schools.

And my daughter had been one of these field trips earlier in the year.

But these school trips tend to be rushed and we both decided we wanted to get to know the mountain better by taking most of a day to follow as many trails as we could around the mountain and to the summit. It was also a chance to spend some quality time together as we both enjoy hiking.

A little known fact about the mountain is that it is home to the oldest growth forest east of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. A few hundred feet below the summit are trees over 350 years old – which means they were saplings just about 30 years after the Mayflower set anchor off Cape Cod.

After checking out the visitor’s center, which is on Mountain Road a few miles after the main ski lodge, we took the Bicentennial Trail as it weaves its way around the base of the mountain. This is a surprisingly rocky ledge area and because of the wet summer we’ve had in the northeast we quickly got our shoes and legs muddy. This is a fairly flat walk and not at all strenuous and you’ll get to see a lot of uprooted trees. Bug spray was required throughout our hike.

After about a mile you’ll take a left onto High Meadow Trail which takes you around Echo Lake and where you’ll pick up the Echo Lake Trail. The trail descended and end-up at a spot called Machias Pool that has a small lot and entrance to the main Administration Road.

The trail on the left of the Road is called the Stage Coach Trail. There is a barrier in front of the trail which is wide and more like a road than a hiking trail. Recent development in this area makes it seem you’re on private land but we followed the Stage Coach road until after less than 0.5-mile it widened.

Just where it widened on the right there was a small clearing into the woods with some rock stepping stones. This led us onto the Harrington Trail.

The Harrington Trail gently ascended through the forest crossing the Administration Road and then begun to get steeper as it made a beeline for the summit.

By this point we had been going for just under 2 hours but had not seen a lot of other hikers. Most people tend to take the more direct Pine Hill Trail from the visitor’s center which can be very busy, especially at weekends. But taking this trip can mean you skip appreciating the size and diversity of the reservation.

We did not continue on to the summit on the Harrington Trail but instead turned left onto the Semuhenna Trail. This trail continued for another 0.5-mile crossing the summit road and entered a small picnic area in the woods before meeting the West Side Trail.

We turned right onto the West Side Trail which gets a little steeper as you head towards the summit.

After less than 0.5-mile we turned right again onto Old Indian Trail and this was the steepest part of the climb but it didn’t last that long.

At the top of the trail we entered woods near the ski lift area and followed the final steps of the trail to the summit.

The summit has some picnic areas and a good view of the surrounding area. Because it was a hazy August day we couldn’t see a lot but I’ve been here before to see the New England fall foliage from the summit when the cool crisp air provides clearer views to Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire, and even Boston itself – 60-miles to the east.

Our rambles of crisscrossing of trail meant we took just a little over 2 hours to reach the summit, but we had taken more relaxed and less traveled routes and got to see and experience a lot more of Wachusett Mountain than most hikers do.

There was a cool breeze on the summit and we consumed our sandwiches and reflected on the hike and which return route to take. In the end we decided to take the more direct route down and followed the Pine Hill Trail down. This is the quickest route down and is definitely helped by the outstanding work of the trail constructors who have built a lot of steps into this trail to aid both ascent and getting back down.

After a short hike down the Pine Hill Trail it hooked back up with the Bicentennial Trail and we turned left to take the trail we had started our journey on to get back to the visitor’s center.

Though not in a league with the peaks of the White Mountains further to the north, Wachusett offers family hiking and recreation on the Worcester region’s doorstep, and is a great way to get acquainted with the woods and forests of central Massachusetts.

You can get more information on trails and directions to the parking areas on the reservation and the auto road to the summit at department of conservation and recreation web site here: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/wach.htm

For more ideas and suggestions on hiking and things to do in the area visit our special Massachusetts Vacation section at our web site.

Another New England post by one of our writers is being prepared right now so be sure to visit again or just subscribe to our RSS Feed here and get notified automatically of events and news.

Joan Daniels
Staff Writer
New England Online Magazine

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