West approach to Clinton Tunnel, March 2022.JPG
Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Lancaster Mill Pond–Clamshell Pond, 5 lakes is a 2.9-mile out-and-back in Rauscher Farm near West Berlin, MA. The route passes Frog Pond, Clamshell Pond, Clinton Tunnel - East Entrance and Clinton Tunnel - West Entrance before reaching Lancaster Mill Pond at the turnaround, 1.4 miles in. It climbs 264 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 11/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi381 – 548 ft3.0 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Great Meadows Trail 42.39604, -71.67273
Nearest town West Berlin, MA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Lancaster Mill Pond–Clamshell Pond, 5 lakes

2.9 mi · ▲ 264 ft · 1 hr 6 min

Elevation 380–547 ft

Out & Back · Rauscher Farm

Trailhead: Great Meadows Trail · 42.39604, -71.67273

Weather Aug 4: Overcast, high 81°F / low 60° · precip 0% · wind 5 mph · sunrise 5:43 AM · sunset 8:04 PM

  1. Start on Great Meadows Trail, heading SW.
  2. 50 ftPass Frog Pond.
  3. 0.1 miBear right onto Big Boulder Trail, heading W.
  4. 0.2 miTurn left onto Old Clamshell road, heading SW.
  5. 50 ftPass Clamshell Pond.
  6. 450 ftSharp right onto Powerline Trail, heading S.
  7. 0.2 miBear right, heading N.
  8. 0.2 miTurn left, heading NW.
  9. 50 ftTurn right, heading NW.
  10. 250 ftSharp right, heading W.
  11. 0.2 miBear left, heading NE.
  12. 0.1 miPass Clinton Tunnel - East Entrance.
  13. 50 ftTurn right onto Central Massachusetts Branch, heading NW.
  14. 0.2 miPass Clinton Tunnel - West Entrance.
  15. 50 ftReach Lancaster Mill Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  16. 0.2 miTurn left, heading W.
  17. 0.1 miBear right, heading SW.
  18. 0.2 miSharp left, heading SW.
  19. 300 ftTurn left, heading SW.
  20. 50 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  21. 0.2 miBear left onto Powerline Trail, heading S.
  22. 0.2 miSharp left onto Old Clamshell road, heading S.
  23. 500 ftTurn right onto Big Boulder Trail, heading NE.
  24. 0.2 miBear left onto Great Meadows Trail, heading S.
  25. 0.1 miArrive back at the trailhead.

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

Trail surface

70% dirt30% unspecified

Weather

OvercastTemperature 81°F60°
Precip0%Wind5 mphUV7Humidity79%
Rained 0.4″ yesterday (1.8″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
85°60°
Sunrise 5:43 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:04 PM
Wed 83°62°
Thu 89°69° 33%
Fri 94°71° 33%
Sat 93°69° 31%
Sun 94°68° 15%
Mon 91°72° 15%

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.1 mi in (~3 min). Leave by 7:41 PM for the 8:04 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:23 PM — 13 min before dark. Trailhead visible from the viewpoint

More sunset hikes nearby

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