School trip suggestions

Hi all,

Been a while since I've been here, but thought I'd try to get some ideas about a school hike for the upcoming fall. We usually hike Mt. Wachusett successfully but wanted to see if there's other options to vary the yearly hikes.

We are a small special education school (30 kids, 13 staff) for kids with various emotional challenges and we take a fall hike in early October as a team/school building activity. We've got 7th, 8th and 9th graders. I'd love an ideas folks have here, but there are some parameters:

1) We are a day school only, so we get the kids off of their busses at 8:30am and need to be back in the greater Boston area for 2:15pm or so for dismissal.

2) Our kids have varying levels of athleticism, but we've successfully hiked Mt. Wachusett several times. Even if we had the time, we wouldn't be doing a 4000 footer or anything like that.

3) Doesn't have to be a mountain, but something that would be somewhat interesting at the end would be ideal (view, water, etc) as they do better with a reward of sorts.


If anyone has ANY ideas, I'd love to hear them and thanks.

How about Monadnock? I took some 8th graders up there at least 10 years ago. If that is to much you could hike Watatic over in Asburnham, MA. Hike to the summit and you could even make a bit of a loop going over to the NH/MA state border marker.

The Mount Willard Trail in Crawford Notch may be a good option. Often advertised as a great view for less effort than some others. It's 1.6 miles up and 900 feet of climbing so I'm sure a worthwhile and challenging effort for some of your students depending on disability level. The view is quite a reward on good days. Crawford may be a farther drive than you want though...

Have you thought of the Blue Hills Reservation? There are some suprisingly nice outlooks and challenging hikes of varying degrees and it's not far...but looking at the south shore mall doesn't have nearly the same impact as the southen Pressies.

Welch / Dickey

Pack Monadnock out of Miller State Park would be a good day trip for the kids. Relatively easy hike that all should be able to do. Good views at the top and along the way. Can do a nice loop hike. Should be able to do the trip in under 3 hours with lunch break at the summit.

I would stay away from Mt Monadnock. Although many school groups do head to Grand Monadnock your time frame would not make it feasible. Leaving Boston at 8:15 you wouldn't get started till 10:00 and you would have to leave shortly after 12 to get back by your departure time. Only the best experienced hikers can do Grand Monadnock in a couple hours. Besides, since I see a lot of school groups on the mountain throughout the year, there are a lot of kids who can not come close to reaching the summit. It is a difficult hike and will rival most 4000 footers. It is a real bad experience for the kids who can't summit. A hike that all the kids can enjoy and share together the experience would be much more rewarding to all.

As mentioned Blue Hills is close by and a wonderful area. I have a friend who hikes there often and knows the area very well. If that location interests you I would be more than willing to put you in touch with him and he could help you work out a nice day trip with views and interesting other things. He is a member of this site, so maybe he'll even chime in. Okay Charlie chime in.

Anything as far north as Welch Dickey (a fine loop, BTW) is probably not doable during a normal school day with a bus ride from the Boston area... Even Monadnock sounds like it might be a stretch. How about something in the Wapack Range?

Tim

Look into the North Mountain loop of Pawtuckaway State Park in southern NH. It starts off Reservation Rd. It's about 90 minutes from Boston. It's a 5-mile loop with views and very cool rock formations. 750ft of elevation gain.

This might fit the bill for some beautiful low level hiking. Of coarse there would be admission fees involved here.

http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/northeast-ma/crane-beach-on-the-crane.html

A place like Walden Pond might also work. In addition to the pond, there is a maze of trails and small hills (up to ~100 ft). One could easily concoct a several hour walk in the woods. There are some pretty spots in there, particularly if one gets away from the crowds at the pond itself.

If you choose to go there, send me a PM. I have a friend who works there and can get you in contact with the proper person. You might even be able to get a guide... (I also know the area pretty well and can suggest some nice routes.)

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden/

Doug

I'll second the Blue Hills. The Blue Skyline trail is not that difficult and provides some nice views. Some of the kids might need some help at the mid point since there is a little rock climb involved but if you have enough staff that should not be a problem. Fellow hikers are usually willing to help out as well.

The Fells?

kerry13 said:

Besides, since I see a lot of school groups on the mountain throughout the year, there are a lot of kids who can not come close to reaching the summit. It is a difficult hike and will rival most 4000 footers. It is a real bad experience for the kids who can't summit. A hike that all the kids can enjoy and share together the experience would be much more rewarding to all.

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I hiked Monadnock as a 6th grader and loved it, but I also remember many classmates didn't make it all the way which I agree could be disappointing.

The Fells have some nice trails and great views of Boston, especially the Pine Hill area. Plus it's close.

logistically thinking,
Kids off bus at 8:30. on bus at say, 8:45. back at 2:15 pm.
Gives you 5 1/2 hrs total.
Monadnock from Boston will take you about 4hrs, RT, driving time, so that is out.
Even the Wapack area and Watatic, you would be constantly, looking at your watch.
You want this to be a non- hurried and memorable trip for the kids !
Keep it close to the city! you don't want to waste all of your time traveling.

The Fells, Blue Hills, Walden Pond all sound like great ideas!

My personal favorite would be Purgatory Chasm State Park in Sutton, Ma.
Although the actual Chasm is only a 1/4 mile long, I could spend hours exploring the caves and scrambling over the boulders in this area.
most of the kids I know, love this stuff ! and it keeps things interesting.
The drive from Boston will take you less than an hour each way so, you can maximize your relax time.
Just an Idea.

Thanks everyone!

All the ideas are great...I appreciate the thoughts and if there are more, I'll keep reading!

Monadnock is out as it's too much for many of our students, and the idea of an emergency that far from our home base is unappealing. Drive is too far as well and I already stress a bit about the time heading to Wachusett.


I'll be checking out the place in Sutton and Trustee's website as Crane's beach along with some of their other options might fit the bill too.


I'll update the thread when we've picked out our spot and route. Thanks again!

For the brief time I lived in MA, we visited Purgatory quite often, I really enjoyed it very much, and my wife, who grew up in MA, was there more often than me.

I would say this, there have been a lot of slips and slides there, quite a few injuries, which is the usual caveat for any outdoor excursion. However, with a large group to maintain, with quite a bit of room for them to roam, it may be hard to monitor everybody. If the conditions are wet (day before / morning of) it can be pretty slick in there too.

All the same, its a great place!

Might be a little further than you want to go, but what about Dogtown up in Gloucester? Depending on what your kids get excited about, it might be fun for them to explore the old foundations, etc.

Hope the kids have a great time, wherever they go!

Tracking down the Babson Boulders in Dogtown, with their terse little carved sayings, is great fun, and I bet would keep your kids happily engaged.

Depending on your budget, a different option would be the ferry from near the Aquarium to Spectacle Island - part of the Harbor Islands National Park. The ride itself is short but scenic and the Island is high enough for great views, with 5 miles of "trails" (more like sidewalks, but pleasant). There are also many kiosks with interesting history, a beach, seafood snackbar, etc.

I imagine a school group could get a reasonable deal.

roadtripper said:

Look into the North Mountain loop of Pawtuckaway State Park in southern NH. It starts off Reservation Rd. It's about 90 minutes from Boston. It's a 5-mile loop with views and very cool rock formations. 750ft of elevation gain.

Click to expand...

I do this hike almost weekly its 30mins from my house very pretty and well maintained trails and the elevation is very subtle hopefully its close enough

Mt. Kearsarge from either the Rollins or Winslow State Park's. Call ahead to let them know you are coming and to get group discount.

Just a thought and i have no idea if this is possible but how about the Boston Harbor Islands?