Groton School Pond & Nashua River Rail Trail is an 11.1-mile out-and-back in Shepley Hill near Paper Mill Village, MA. The route reaches Groton School Pond. It is mostly level, with 229 ft of elevation gain, and mostly paved. It scores 1/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi233 – 328 ft11.4 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 42.63217, -71.57563
Nearest town Paper Mill Village, MA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Groton School Pond & Nashua River Rail Trail
11.1 mi · ▲ 229 ft · 3 hr 49 min
Elevation 235–327 ft
Out & Back · Shepley Hill
Trailhead: 42.63217, -71.57563
Weather Aug 4: Clear, high 83°F / low 61° · precip 0% · wind 6 mph · sunrise 5:42 AM · sunset 8:04 PM
Transit-accessible: Ayer stop 217 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading E.
- 150 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 0.3 miBear right, heading SW.
- 250 ftSharp left onto Nashua River Rail Trail, heading NW.
- 2.8 miPass Groton School Pond.
- 2.4 miReach Groton School Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 5.2 miSharp right, heading NE.
- 250 ftBear left, heading N.
- 0.3 miTurn left, heading NE.
- 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
92% paved6% dirt2% unspecified
Weather
ClearTemperature 83°F61°
Precip0%Wind6 mphUV7Humidity75%
Rained 1.1″ yesterday (2.2″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
85°60°
Sunrise 5:42 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:04 PM
Wed
85°63°
Thu
88°70°
32%
Fri
95°71°
32%
Sat
94°69°
33%
Sun
94°68°
Mon
92°73°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.2 mi in (~6 min). Leave by 7:38 PM for the 8:04 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:23 PM — 13 min before dark.
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: Ayer stop 217 m from the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from this trailhead
- Pepperell Pond–Eagle Loop, 3 sights 6.3 mi · ▲ 66 ft
- Wright-Nashua River Lot–City of Nashua Land, 5 groves 13.2 mi · ▲ 53 ft
Get outside more
A wild hike near Paper Mill Village, emailed to you once a week.
Hikes near Paper Mill Village, Massachusetts