Lower Mill Pond–Upper Mill Pond, 7 beaches
5.7 mi · ▲ 420 ft · 2 hr 7 min
Lower Mill Pond–Upper Mill Pond, 7 beaches is a 5.7-mile out-and-back in Noanet Woodlands near Charles River Village, MA. The route passes Lower Mill Pond, Upper Mill Pond, Shapiro Beach and 3 more before reaching North Beach at the turnaround, 2.9 miles in. It climbs 420 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 26/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Lower Mill Pond–Upper Mill Pond, 7 beaches
5.7 mi · ▲ 420 ft · 2 hr 7 min
Elevation 136–346 ft
Out & Back · Noanet Woodlands
Trailhead: 42.25134, -71.27066
Weather Aug 4: Overcast, high 83°F / low 63° · precip 0% · wind 5 mph · sunrise 5:42 AM · sunset 8:02 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading SW.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading SE.
- 450 ftBear left, heading S.
- 100 ftTurn right, heading SE.
- 150 ftTurn left, heading S.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading W.
- 0.1 miTurn left, heading SE.
- 250 ftTurn left, heading S.
- 250 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading S.
- 300 ftBear right, heading SE.
- 50 ftPass Lower Mill Pond.
- 400 ftPass Upper Mill Pond.
- 250 ftBear left, heading E.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Peabody Loop, heading E.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading S.
- 0.4 miPass Shapiro Beach.
- 100 ftTurn right onto Yellow Blaze Trail, heading SE.
- 50 ftBear left, heading SE.
- 200 ftTurn left, heading E.
- 350 ftPass Powissett Beach.
- 50 ftPass Hale Reservation Beach.
- 0.5 miTurn right, heading E.
- 0.5 miPass Storrow Pond.
- 0.3 miPass North Beach.
- 350 ftReach Lower Mill Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.9 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.3 miSharp left, heading SW.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading SE.
- 250 ftTurn left, heading SE.
- 0.4 miTurn right onto Peabody Loop, heading W.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading N.
- 50 ftBear right, heading N.
- 0.1 miBear left, heading SW.
- 300 ftTurn right, heading SW.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading SW.
- 250 ftTurn right, heading SW.
- 200 ftTurn right, heading SW.
- 0.1 miTurn right, heading NW.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading N.
- 150 ftTurn left, heading NW.
- 50 ftBear right, heading NW.
- 450 ftTurn left, heading N.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading N.
- 250 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
Weather
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 2.0 mi in (~57 min). Leave by 6:45 PM for the 8:02 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:09 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from this trailhead
- Noanet Peak viewpoint–Lower Mill Pond, 4 lakes 2.2 mi · ▲ 250 ft
- Noanet Peak–Lower Mill Pond, 4 lakes 2.6 mi · ▲ 225 ft
- Powissett Peak–Lower Mill Pond, 4 lakes 3.3 mi · ▲ 250 ft
- Powissett Pond–Lower Mill Pond, 7 beaches 3.5 mi · ▲ 338 ft
- Oak Hill–Noanet Pond, 9 beaches 5.2 mi · ▲ 454 ft
- Noanet Pond–Powissett Pond, 9 beaches 6.2 mi · ▲ 508 ft
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Hikes near Charles River Village, Massachusetts