Early June in New England can be a rainy affair. For those who don’t like the cold, outdoor activities might feel like a chore, but some benefits come from visiting local nature reserves when the weather is dreary. The New England forests near Boston are normally awash with mosquitoes and other insects during the warm summer months, but many of these creatures will seek shelter to avoid getting hit by raindrops during summer storms. It was during such a weather event I visited the northeastern portion of the Middlesex Fells Reservation north of Boston to find some points of interest located in the park. Amazingly, I only saw a single mosquito the entire hike!
There are two points of interest located on Google Maps near the North Reservoir, neither of which are true showstoppers but are nice to look at if already in the area. The first is the North Reservoir Lookout. There’s not really a defined point here as you can see the reservoir from various locations, but the point marked on Google Maps provides somewhat of a view of the dam containing the water source of the Western side.
It’s unclear based on online photos whether the dam used to be open for walking, but the current path directs hikers below the dam to cross to the other side, which obscures the views for a bit and is not a very exciting stretch of path. Nevertheless, you can see some historic structures here that seem to still be in use for reservoir maintenance.
The views of the water itself can be stunning. Even on this rainy day the surface was wafting with a calming mist that hovered near the surface an blew upward as the wind picked up.
The second portion of the hike I took brought me to a small boulder called the rock sofa, a surprisingly comfy rock with a dip in the side where you can sit to take a break from walking.
It’s a cute name and an obvious landmark on the trail, but the trails to get there are not always clearly marked so you need to stay closer to the water to find the rock.
The trees in this area during this time of year are beautiful, consisting of maples, white pines, and beeches, the coloring of the deciduous tees almost to their green summer peak but still have a slightly translucent look to them, allowing the soft cloudy light to filter in through the canopy and making for great photo lighting. Whether you need to go to this particular spot to get this vibe is debatable, but the maintainence of the park and mix of shoreline and white pine forest allows for easy treking compared to more dense portions of local forest, and also may help cut down on the number of insects in the park.
It’s a great location for an easy day hike if you have a car and can drive to one of the entrances at the northwest portion of the park. You may need to Street park on the nearby neighborhood roads if you stop at an entrance that doesn’t have a parking lot.