Mass Central Rail Trail W, Hudson MA.jpg
John Phelan · CC BY 4.0

French Road Pond–Ocean By-Pass, 3 sights is an 8.2-mile out-and-back in Memorial Forest near Gleasondale Station, MA. The route reaches French Road Pond at the turnaround, 4 miles in. It is mostly level, with 193 ft of elevation gain. It scores 22/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi167 – 269 ft8.9 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 42.39636, -71.52007
Nearest town Gleasondale Station, MA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

French Road Pond–Ocean By-Pass, 3 sights

8.2 mi · ▲ 193 ft · 2 hr 50 min

Elevation 169–269 ft

Out & Back · Memorial Forest

Trailhead: 42.39636, -71.52007

Weather Aug 4: sunrise 5:42 AM · sunset 8:04 PM

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading NE.
  2. 50 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  3. 50 ftTurn right, heading NE.
  4. 150 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  5. 50 ftTurn right, heading NE.
  6. 0.2 miBear right, heading SE.
  7. 0.2 miContinue straight onto Mass Central Rail Trail -- Wayside, heading E.
  8. 1.3 miTurn left, heading SE.
  9. 300 ftSharp right, heading NE.
  10. 350 ftTurn right, heading SE.
  11. 0.7 miTurn right onto Pipeline Pass, heading SE.
  12. 0.6 miTurn right onto Plymton Trail, heading S.
  13. 0.2 miTurn left onto Pipeline Pass, heading W.
  14. 250 ftTurn left, heading W.
  15. 150 ftTurn right, heading W.
  16. 50 ftBear left, heading W.
  17. 0.3 miTurn left, heading E.
  18. 450 ftTurn right, heading E.
  19. 350 ftBear left, heading S.
  20. 0.1 miBear right, heading SE.
  21. 50 ftBear left, heading SE.
  22. 150 ftTurn left, heading S.
  23. 250 ftBear left, heading SW.
  24. 150 ftReach French Road Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  25. 150 ftBear right, heading SE.
  26. 300 ftTurn right, heading E.
  27. 100 ftBear right, heading E.
  28. 50 ftBear left, heading E.
  29. 0.1 miBear right, heading NE.
  30. 350 ftTurn left, heading N.
  31. 450 ftTurn right, heading S.
  32. 0.3 miBear right, heading NW.
  33. 50 ftTurn left, heading N.
  34. 350 ftTurn right onto Plymton Trail, heading W.
  35. 0.2 miTurn left onto Ocean By-Pass, heading W.
  36. 0.6 miTurn left onto Mass Central Rail Trail -- Wayside, heading SW.
  37. 0.7 miTurn right, heading NW.
  38. 150 ftTurn left, heading NW.
  39. 350 ftSharp left, heading NW.
  40. 1.6 miBear left, heading NW.
  41. 0.2 miTurn left, heading W.
  42. 50 ftTurn right, heading W.
  43. 150 ftTurn left, heading W.
  44. 50 ftTurn right, heading W.
  45. 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

49% paved32% dirt19% unspecified

Weather

Sunrise 5:42 AMSunset 8:04 PM

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 4.0 mi in (~98 min). Leave by 6:06 PM for the 8:04 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:58 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

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