Sandy Pond Trail

7/10😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 Mommy Approved Smiling Faces

139-147 Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773

https://www.walden.org/property/sandy-pond/

 

Sandy Pond Trail is also known as Flint Pond.  This area was very beautiful.  We parked across from Flint Pond and there was a marked trail entrance directly next to where we parked.  We, of course, entered thinking it was the trail we wanted which looped around the pond.  This was not the case.  We figured that out after we walked in a very large circle and then turned on our GPS. So we got lost prior to finding the correct hiking trail we intended to be on and we also found it confusing once we were actually on the loop we wanted to be on.  I think this was due to the size of this hiking area mainly but, I can’t be certain.  The only colors seen on the trail were yellow and red.  There are also letters and numbers that are pretty camouflage being carved on wood.  These coordinates and the GPS saved us many times throughout this hike.  Sadly, we didn’t see the water for most of the hike and when we did see it, we couldn’t touch it because it’s reservoir water.  This was a bummer.  I read that we can’t be in the water before hand so I was prepared for that, but I did expect to have more water views on the hike.  The hike was pretty however, it was mostly just dense forests with little else to be seen. The paths here are wide and mostly easy to walk on with some rocks here and there.  I found the end of the trail to be the most challenging before we entered the Museum grounds, just due to the steep decline and more rocks.  I won’t coming back here to hike ( too far for me with not enough of a draw to return), unless I visit the deCordova Sculpture Museum that the GPS lead us through toward the end of our 3 mile hike!  Then, I may decide to do both the hike and go inside the museum.  We only got to see the grounds of the deCordova Sculpture Museum because it was closed and not our target goal when deciding to come to this area.  You can see some of the enormous artwork found at the museum posted below.  For us, this was the end of our hike so the art sculptures rejuvenated us when we were all beat from the long hike and the hot day!  It was a very pleasant surprise.

The Skinny:

• Location : Sandy Pond Trail  is a wilderness area with various trails with Flint pond close by.  The Sandy Pond Trail around the pond is 3.5 miles but has options for 1.5 miles and its rating is moderate.  This is a leashed-dog friendly hike.
• Duration : We spent 4 hours here. We definitely got lost several times. I would say finding the correct path to begin with was the most challenging task. Once we finally found the loop that went around the pond which was across the street from where we parked, we still got lost. We had GPS on the phone so we just backtracked. The trail even took us on the grounds of the museum? which was actually a great surprise!
• Admissions and Parking : FREE and we found spaces but there wasn’t a lot, probably 10-12 or so
• Weather : It has to be a decent day because it is entirely outside

Recommendations and Tips :

1. This location is beautiful. The trees are very tall and dense. You definitely need GPS and a good sense of direction along with map reading skills. I found the trails not so clearly marked. There were colors along with letters and numbers that were wooden and not as apparent hanging on trees! We won’t be going back just because it isn’t around the corner for us. The deCordova Sculpture Museum looks great and if you do go, I would say make a day of it and hike too.  That will be a very full day though so use your judgement.
2. There are absolutely no water activities here.  There are signs everywhere prohibiting touching the water in any way.  If you want to swim you can’t do it here.

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