While I hiked at Blue Hills Reservation throughout my childhood, it took the pandemic for me to venture outside of the beaten path.  Blue Hills Reservation encompasses over 7000 acres of land just south of Boston.  It offers 125 miles of hiking trails, a ski hill, views of Boston, a wildlife museum, and a swimming beach. The main parking lot is located at the base of the ski hill. 

The Blue Hills Trailside Museum is situated between the two parking lots. It includes some indoor interpretative exhibits and a gift shop, but the highlight of the place are the native animals just outside the museum.  Whenever I think about the Blue Hills, I immediately think about coming here as a kid to watch the otters and turtles swim about.  They also have a few bald eagles, turkey vultures, great snowy owls, red tailed hawks, red tailed fox,  and white tailed deer. All the animals are here either because of being orphaned or injured, so while animals living in captivity is not ideal, at least these animals are being taken care of. 

The main parking area is also the starting point for the reservation’s most popular hike: Great Blue Hill.  Hiking to the top of Great Blue Hill is a short ¾ mile trail (1.5 miles round trip); the incline up to the summit provides enough challenge to make it feel like a true hike, and the Eliot Observation tower at the top offers the sweeping views of Boston and the surrounding area as a nice pay off. 

The Skyline trail can either be added onto the Eliot Observation tower hike or begun for the Reservation Headquarters parking lot. The most popular section of the Skyline Trail meanders for 2.5 miles up and down 5 of the 23 hills.  The trail offers several great views of Boston and a little less foot traffic, but it also includes a lot of scrambling up and down rocky hillsides. 

Houghton Pond offers both a swimming beach as well as a 1.2 mile loop trail.  Since the trail circles around the pond, it includes little elevation so makes for a nice easy walk, and just like other sections of the Blue Hills, this trail can easily be combined with others to create a more extensive exploration of the area. 

For a longer pond walk, head across the highway to Ponkapoag pond. The trail around the pond measures at 4 miles, and offers a few spurs into the marshland on boardwalk trails – I love a good boardwalk.  There is also an AMC campsite here that offers day passes for use of their swimming beach. 

At the base of the Blue Hills, Brookwood Community Farm is committed to increasing availability of healthy food options. They offer several CSA options throughout the year, and in the fall they host Maple Days.  During this weekend in March, they bring the public up close and personal with the trees, process, and tasting of maple syrup.  

At the Eastern end of the Blue Hills are the Quincy Quarries. The Quincy Quarries have an interesting history dating back to 1825. First opened to supply granite for the Bunker Hill Monument, the Quincy Quarries became the backbone of the granite industry in the area. When the quarries closed in 1963, the pit became flooded and locals began using the area as a swimming hole. Unfortunately, they also became known for cliff jumping, and after many people lost their lives in diving accidents, the quarries closed to the public. In the early 2000s,  Boston used the quarries as a dumping site for  leftover dirt from the Big Dig. Now, they have reopened as a site for rock climbing and graffiti art. 

People have definitely embraced the art of graffiti as the bright colors of spray paint adorn all the rocks, trees, benches, and even the parking lot. This also means that there are layers and layers of spray paint covering the rocks, which can make the surfaces slippery. So, please be cautious if there has been rain or high winds. Even though the quarry has been filled in with dirt, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are still serious accidents from the cliff tops.  

A great view of Boston awaits those who are brave enough to climb up to the top of the rocks. 

Follow the granite blocks lined up to form a path to the left of the tallest granite block to see more of the quarry history. At the edge of the reservation land sits the railway incline that was once used to move the granite blocks into awaiting trains.  The fifteen degree incline was seen as an engineering marvel at the time as its weighted system and rotating end point allowed continuous operation of moving granite. Because of the large-scale operation of this quarry, people have also named this rail line as the first commercial railroad in the United States.    

What once started as a small brewery in a random industrial park in Canton has now moved to a massive brewery, restaurant, and function space easily accessible to the highway and just outside Blue Hills. Trillium Brewery still specializes in a wide array of IPAs, sours, and wild ales with a consistent rotation of options.  The new complex offers a casual sitting area, structured restaurant service, private lounge areas, and a large outdoor patio.  While I’m happy that the brewery is doing so well, I do miss the casual nature of their old place.