AMBLEWAY Wildest hikes
Puffers Pond Dam, Amherst MA.jpg
John Phelan · CC BY 4.0
Upper Mill River Conservation Area

Mount Boreas–Puffers Pond, 5 beaches

3.6 mi · ▲ 352 ft · 1 hr 23 min

Mount Boreas–Puffers Pond, 5 beaches is a 3.6-mile out-and-back in Upper Mill River Conservation Area near Factory Hollow, MA. The route passes Puffers Pond, Puffers Pond South Beach, Puffers Pond North Beach and 2 more before reaching Mount Boreas at the turnaround, 1.8 miles in. It climbs 352 ft, with sections as steep as 17% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 8/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi223 – 548 ft · steepest grade: 17%3.8 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: H. H. Jackson Trail 42.41691, -72.52025
Nearest town Factory Hollow, MA
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Directions

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Mount Boreas–Puffers Pond, 5 beaches

3.6 mi · ▲ 352 ft · 1 hr 23 min

Elevation 222–550 ft

Out & Back · Upper Mill River Conservation Area

Trailhead: H. H. Jackson Trail · 42.41691, -72.52025

Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:36 AM · sunset 6:53 PM

Transit-accessible: Mill Hollow Apts / Puffer's Pond stop 77 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start on H. H. Jackson Trail, heading NE.
  2. 50 ftPass Puffers Pond.
  3. 50 ftPass Puffers Pond South Beach.
  4. 50 ftPass Puffers Pond North Beach.
  5. 100 ftBear left, heading N.
  6. 0.2 miContinue straight onto Robert Frost Trail, heading SE.
  7. 50 ftPass Puffers Pond South Beach.
  8. 0.2 miPass Mill River.
  9. 1.3 miReach Mount Boreas, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  10. 1.6 miContinue straight onto H. H. Jackson Trail, heading NW.
  11. 0.2 miArrive back at the trailhead.

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

Trail map, photos and weather for this hike: www.ambleway.com/hikes/mount-boreas-mill-river-out-back-10-lakes-7-km

Trail surface

85% dirt15% unspecified

Weather

Sunrise 6:36 AMSunset 6:53 PM

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.2 mi in (~6 min). Leave by 6:27 PM for the 6:53 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:13 PM — 8 min before dark.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Transit-accessible: Mill Hollow Apts / Puffer's Pond stop 77 m from the trailhead
  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

More from H. H. Jackson Trail Trailhead

Hikes near Factory Hollow, Massachusetts