Not sure if I picked the wrong day or the wrong trail but my "hiking" experience in the Blue Hills…read morefell short. In general, there's not great hiking around Boston unless you keep doing the same trails in Milddlesex but I had heard a lot of good things about Blue Hills so off I went. 1. The Skyline trail, for being the most popular one, was extremely poorly marked. I'm glad I downloaded the AllTrails map ahead of time for the route because even with the map, I got turned around several times and had to scurry forward and back to try to find the markings. At one point, the markings disappeared completely, i.e., I was definitely off-trail, and I couldn't find my way back without committing to another rock scramble back down, so I just consulted the map, did another trail, and cut back to the same route a few minutes later. 2. So very, very buggy. Most of the time that I was walking, I was swatting a bug, trying not to eat a bug, or actually eating a bug. Not the most pleasant of hiking conditions but something avoidable by just coming later in the season when all the bugs are dead. Passed by some lakes that looked very scenic from a distance but then, when you get close, you see it's all pretty much stagnant water/pond scum and millions of mating bugs. 3. This may be relatively minor but if you're coming from Boston, the traffic to get over here is dreadful and, again depending on which starting point you use, there aren't bathrooms available. Plan accordingly. 4. Parking was free and easy - I went with the Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy and hopped right onto the trailhead from there. 5. Hiking shoes are fine but I think this hike is doable in sneakers. Aside from a scramble here or there, the elevation was pretty gradual. Do be careful of the various roots and whatnot. I guess the lesson is: bug spray and download the trail map. Unless you're fine making a day of it and trying different trails, but even so, download the map.

If you're looking for a place to go hiking near Boston, Blue Hills Reservation is the perfect spot…read moreto go to! It is just a couple miles south of Boston! There's many different trails here, though I haven't done all of them, I mainly enjoy going up from Chickatawbut Rd (towards Braintree/Quincy) and near the Milton 2B Exit on Canton Ave/Washington St. The Skyline Trail is great if you've got some time on your hands but for a short hike, I wouldn't recommend. This trail is around 3 miles and at the summit, you get a grand skyline view of Boston! On this route, you will see the Summit tower & the Observatory. In the winter time, skiing and snow tubing is very popular here.

Beautiful shared space for people and dogs. While we were there all dogs and their owners were…read moremindful of others and everyone had fun. Easy access to the water at multiple points. My senior dog had a great time swimming. Be cautious about algae/bacteria in the water and area!

Relaxing beautiful place to chill with the kids or have a picnic. Love it here so pretty in the…read morewarmer months.

How did I not know this existed?! Probably because you have to walk through the golf course to get…read moreto it. Way worth the visit on the other side of great blue hill from the highway you walk through the golf course to the pond and a wide trail circles the whole pond. It is a 4 mile loop. The trail was really muddy when we went (November) and we didn't make it all the way around but I look forward to going again, next time we will wear hiking boots instead of sneakers. The walk through the golf course is pretty nice too the paved road for golf carts is lined in gorgeous big old maples.

Been wanting to check out these trails for a while now and today was the day. There was no clear…read moreaddress on yelp directions but it got me there correctly. There's a tiny little spot you can park right before the head of the trail but only enough for a few cars. I guess if you came and it was full you could park down the street. There is a pretty big lot there that usually has quite a few spots open. You'd have to walk a bit to the trail though. Great trail around Ponkapoag pond. My Fit bit says it was a little over 11,000 steps. Most trails are marked good. There are maps posted every so often and most have an arrow that point "you are here". I would suggest to bring a map although at the place where I started from the box holding the Maps was empty so I just took a picture of the one posted. Definitely bring bug spray! This place is loaded with bugs. I was pretty bitten up at the end of my walk. I stayed on the main trail but there were lots of small trails to go off on. I was pretty disappointed to see signage that said no bikes allowed on a lot of them though. That's a real bummer for me and my beloved mountain bike. Saw lots of beautiful birds and butterflies. Luckily I didn't run into any coyotes but just be aware that they are around. 3.5 stars.

0.9 mile out and back easy trail (not wheel chair friendly the last section toward the rocky…read morebeach). Great ocean views and a couple nice overlook areas with one picnic bench mid way through the trail. No dogs allowed during peak summer season and signs are posted. The trails are mostly packed sand with a good amount of leaf accumulation making it a bit slippery on the wet day we visited.

Beautiful park with easy trails that lead to the beach. Perfect place to hike with elderly parents…read morewho aren't looking for a long walk! Make sure you bring a blanket for the beach - you'll want to lie down on the sand and enjoy the view!

Beautiful park and walking trails. Very dog friendly with large off leash area! The water is a…read morelittle mucky so I don't let the dog near it.

An excellent place for recreation is Cold Spring Park! In addition to three full-size tennis…read morecourts, it features two single-rim basketball courts. A baseball field that might be utilized for a small league or softball. A huge field for football, lacrosse, and/or soccer is also available. There is even an outdoor exercise space that is accessible to people with disabilities. Highly recommended

This park was great when it opened. And it was continuing on a great path of PROGRESS…read more Then all of the progress STOPPED completely! Now everything has been left, and everything is already overgrown. They need to finish it! Yet, it is a full volunteer committee, so they can work on it when they want. Who ever decided to make this a park, made a great decision though.... it's in a wonderful location (as nearby Norwood really doesn't have a large park like this). Yet they need to keep working on this or hire other people, because the paths already need work, and lots of shrubs are overgrowing. All in all, I enjoy this park and would give it 5 stars, yet won't be until they hire others or keep working on it and learn what "UPKEEP" means. I would suggest this park for others, yet for now (until the park is fixed), I would HIGHLY suggest Bird Park in Walpole.

Nice little park with interesting history. A little swampy after the rain but beautiful wetlands…read moreare fun to see

Amazing walking and biking trail from Natick to Framingham and back. Truly, a hidden gem of the…read moreregion that's usually not very busy either so great to bring dogs to.

I first found out about this path when my boss took me here after work one day. He likes to go on…read morewalks to delay returning home when his psychotic girlfriend (according to him) or her psychotic 10yr old daughter (also, according to him) are too much to handle. Sometimes his goal is to wait for them to fall asleep, then go home. I duck out before it gets to that point. The Upper Charles River Trail will eventually be 24 miles long and through Milford, Ashland, Sherborn, Holliston, and Hopkinton. It's on an old CSX right of way. I believe the Milford section is the only section complete so far, roughly ~5 miles. I don't jog that long anyway, especially with the sunset getting earlier. I usually park at Fino Field and go the trail until it intersects Route 85 by the Sports Authority, then turn back. Round trip is ~4.5 miles GPSed. The trail is paved and has mile markers in 1/4 mile increments. Traffic is pretty light when I'm there; dusk, weekdays. I see more walkers and less bikers. There are unimproved trails through the woods that you can stumble into and I'm still exploring where they all go. Also, I believe what they call "Vietnam" has an entrance on the north end of the trail across US495. NEMBA actually owns it. (http://www.nemba.org/Articles/VietnamFAQs.html) I'd like to try Vietnam out, but reading reviews saying that there are "6 foot drops out of nowhere" kind of scares me.

Update: I frequent this trail weekly and try to go a few times a week and go in the mornings when I…read moredo. Since August there's been this young couple I want to say in their early twenties with a dog and they have extremely loud music that plays vulgar songs. I don't mean to be a stick in the mud but there are young children and elderly on this trail and they don't need to hear songs about "suck a f****** d***" and other terrible expletives that shouldn't be played at an OBNOXIOUS LEVEL. Not only this but I guess it's you can smoke on this trail even though people are there to exercise so it's pretty rude!! BUT THEY'RE SMOKING WEED! Again I understand weed is recreational now so it's fine and I don't care if people smoke but they were smoking a huge blunt as a mother and a kid and her infant in a stroller passed them and I felt awful as she gave me an odd look and I was behind them. Why do that? There are plenty of areas to go off and hide and smoke do you really have to do it and pass it to each other in front of everyone's children when they're trying to get exercise? It's so rude! Also pick up your dogs shit! I think there should be more police on foot on this trail since were right by the police station or something because I am avoiding this trail until next year they are ALWAYS there. I sat by the lake for almost 2 hours in hopes they would be gone but nope. There they were passing the trail again. Do they live in the woods?? What the hell. The guy always has a backpack and they wear sunglasses. A cute little trail that's pretty clean. Usually pleasant people on this trail for the most part consisting of moms with their kids and the like.