Wells State Park – Sturbridge

Our lovely daughter has a gymnastics class that takes up a few hours mid-day on Saturday.  Even after pausing for lunch, we still have some time to get in a hike (or run some errands, or clean the house, but you know, hiking makes for more interesting blog posts), which is what we did on this day.

We’ve explored Wells State Park a few times since we moved out here, but we hadn’t been in a few years.  You can check out the trail map on the state web page here.

We parked at the visitor lot, and started with a brief loop around the heart-healthy Mill Pond Trail.  This is an easy mile, designed to be accessible to everyone.  It warmed us up for the remainder of the hike.

We then switched gears and took the North Trail, a 2.3 mile trek over some rougher terrain and moderate hills that gave our legs quite the workout.  We paused a few times, including a moment looking out where the power lines crossed overhead and filled the air with an audible and disconcerting hum.

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Not far from here we saw a decorated pine someone had decided needed some Christmas ornamentation.  We snapped a couple shots and continued.

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We stepped off the North Trail and took a detour over to Carpenters Rocks, with its views out over Sturbridge.  We paused and drained the rest of our water before making the return hike to the car.

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Overall we were on the trail for about 3.5 miles, over some pretty rugged terrain.  A great hike and there are more trails to explore on the property.  We’ll definitely be back.