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

Mass Central Rail Trail -- Wayside is an 8.4-mile out-and-back in Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge near Gleasondale Station, MA. It is mostly level, with 82 ft of elevation gain. It scores 8/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi177 – 236 ft8.9 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 42.39689, -71.51584
Nearest town Gleasondale Station, MA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Mass Central Rail Trail -- Wayside

8.4 mi · ▲ 82 ft · 2 hr 50 min

Elevation 178–237 ft

Out & Back · Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge

Trailhead: 42.39689, -71.51584

Weather Sep 20: Drizzle, high 61°F / low 49° · precip 53% · wind 3 mph · sunrise 6:32 AM · sunset 6:49 PM

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading E.
  2. 450 ftBear left, heading S.
  3. 0.2 miContinue straight onto Mass Central Rail Trail -- Wayside, heading SE.
  4. 2.1 miTurn left, heading SE.
  5. 50 ftContinue straight onto Fisher Trail, heading SE.
  6. 1 miBear left, heading NE.
  7. 350 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  8. 0.3 miTurn left, heading NW.
  9. 50 ftTurn right onto Patrol Road, heading NW.
  10. 0.4 miReach the turnaround, then head back the way you came.
  11. 0.4 miTurn left, heading SE.
  12. 0.3 miTurn right, heading SE.
  13. 350 ftBear right, heading SE.
  14. 0.5 miTurn right onto Fisher Trail, heading S.
  15. 0.6 miTurn right onto Mass Central Rail Trail -- Wayside, heading SW.
  16. 2.3 miBear right, heading NW.
  17. 200 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

56% paved14% dirt30% unspecified

Weather

DrizzleTemperature 61°F49°
Precip53%Wind3 mphUV1Humidity94%
Rained 2.7″ 7 days ago
Hourly temperatureRain chance
65°45° 3 AM: 2% rain5 AM: 2% rain6 AM: 5% rain7 AM: 1% rain8 AM: 3% rain9 AM: 8% rain10 AM: 6% rain11 AM: 22% rain12 PM: 35% rain1 PM: 42% rain2 PM: 50% rain3 PM: 53% rain4 PM: 40% rain5 PM: 32% rain6 PM: 51% rain7 PM: 40% rain8 PM: 34% rain9 PM: 35% rain10 PM: 44% rain11 PM: 48% rain
Sunrise 6:32 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 6:49 PM
Mon 66°54° 57%
Tue 60°47°
Wed 62°45°
Thu 64°43°
Fri 62°48° 35%
Sat 59°51° 43%

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 3.7 mi in (~92 min). Leave by 4:57 PM for the 6:49 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:35 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

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