A couple of Sundays ago Carol and I headed out for our weekly hike with the destination of the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. The drive is only about an hour and a half and even though it was a bit of a dreary day we were excited to visit yet another new spot on the little map of New England. Our first stop was at the Yankee Diner in Charlton Mass. This is a great little diner that looks a bit rundown at first glance but it turned out to be a charming place to have breakfast with a cheerful waitress and great portions, and they got my toast right. The diner was built in 1934 and has retained all of it's original the charm. If you are ever traveling on Route 20 through Charlton, be sure to stop here.
We traveled the Mass Pike for another 40 minutes or so and found out way to the Quabbin Reservoir main entrance and to the visitor’s center. We read a bit of the history of the reservoir and how it was made before settling on which trail we would follow. From the visitor center we walked down toward the Winsor Dam and through a gate to follow the 3 mile loop trail. The overcast day did little to dampen our spirits however the sign that said NO DRONES was a bit disappointing. We followed a ridge line for a short while and the down the hill across Power Station Road and down to a small stream where we saw many trout in the clear water. We were able to identify rainbow, brook and brown trout, all from the banks of the stream. Crossing a bridge we continued on to the Swift river where we spotted several trout fishermen in their waders out in the water.
The Reservoir restricts fishing to ‘catch and release’ the people we saw fishing seemed to be fine with that. I had tried my hand at fly fishing many years ago and although I never became an accomplished fisherman, I sure had a lot of fun along the water. Our hike took us through several quite different areas, from a boggy area to rocky hillsides to deep timbered forest. On a good uphill section we got great views of the surrounding area and wished the visibility was better, but even on day like this, it was a great view and good to be out in the forest. The hike was too short, coming in at a mere 3 miles, but it was a great place to explore and we drove to different areas of the park and discovered an observation tower at the top of Quabbin Hill.
The views from the tower were breathtaking. It seemed as though all of Massachusetts was laid out before us. This sure would have been a great place to fly my drone.. even though it was a bit overcast, there was no wind at all.. but a lot of signs that said NO DRONES….drat
Here are some photos of the day.
