The second weekend in September, we hiked the Ball Hill Trail at Leominster State Forest. It is about 30 minutes from Worcester, up I-190, with plenty of parking along Route 31 in Westminster. The location is convenient, with a picnic area by the pond, a swimming beach at Crow Hill Pond and trail maps available at the parking lot. I am glad we took a trail map, because the maps posted on the trail were outdated.
Ball Hill Trail is a bit more than 4 miles long, and begins and ends at the parking lot near the beach. It has an elevation gain of 400 feet, and some parts of the trail are fairly steep.
We found the trail poorly maintained, with ferns growing close to the sides of the trail and much of the soil washed out among the rocks in the hilly sections. We also encountered a lot of water on the trail, both in mud puddles and trickling across our path. I had encountered this problem here before during the spring, but didn’t anticipate how much water the week's rain would leave on the trail. We came out with muddy shoes and legs, and damp socks.
The trail crosses at least 6 stone walls and passes through some pretty clearings full of ferns and some interesting boulders. I wondered what the land was used for before it became part of the state forest. The coolest part of this hike was seeing toads hopping across the trail at regular intervals on some of the low parts of the trail.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Leominster State Forest covers 4,300 acres of land and there are many more trails to explore. Although there is a fee for parking in paved lots during the peak season, parking is free between after Labor Day and before Memorial Day. This makes it an especially appealing hike in the cooler fall and spring months. The forest is also open to snowmobilers and cross-country skiers in the snowy months.
Bring water, bug spray, and a bathing suit and towel if you want to swim in the pond. The water looked a little murky, but there were people swimming and sitting on the sandy beach when we finished our hike.
Total time: 2 and a half hours
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