AMBLEWAY Wildest hikes

Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Shelter Ledge–Upper Long Pond, 3 rocks

2 mi · ▲ 195 ft · 46 min

Shelter Ledge–Upper Long Pond, 3 rocks is a 2-mile out-and-back in Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary near Willows, MA. The route passes Heronry Viewpoint and Shelter Ledge before reaching Upper Long Pond at the turnaround, 0.9 miles in. It is mostly level, with 195 ft of elevation gain, and mostly dirt. It scores 29/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.

Elevation

0 mi243 – 351 ft2.2 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 42.58562, -71.53937
Nearest town Willows, MA
Google Maps Apple Maps

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Shelter Ledge–Upper Long Pond, 3 rocks

2 mi · ▲ 195 ft · 46 min

Elevation 243–353 ft

Out & Back · Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Trailhead: 42.58562, -71.53937

Weather Aug 4: Overcast, high 83°F / low 62° · precip 0% · wind 6 mph · sunrise 5:42 AM · sunset 8:04 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading SW.
  2. 0.1 miBear right, heading S.
  3. 50 ftTurn left, heading S.
  4. 0.2 miTurn left onto Chestnut Oak Loop Trail, heading S.
  5. 50 ftTurn right, heading S.
  6. 150 ftTurn left onto Ovenbird Trail, heading S.
  7. 0.2 miTurn right onto Heronry Trail, heading SE.
  8. 450 ftPass Heronry Viewpoint.
  9. 0.2 miPass Upper Long Pond.
  10. 100 ftBear left, heading S.
  11. 350 ftReach Shelter Ledge, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  12. 0.4 miTurn left onto Ovenbird Trail, heading N.
  13. 0.2 miTurn right onto Chestnut Oak Loop Trail, heading W.
  14. 100 ftTurn right, heading W.
  15. 150 ftTurn right, heading W.
  16. 0.2 miTurn right, heading NE.
  17. 50 ftBear left, heading NE.
  18. 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 map, photos and weather for this hike: www.ambleway.com/hikes/shelter-ledge-upper-long-pond-out-back-3-rocks-3-km

Trail surface

100% dirt

Weather

OvercastTemperature 83°F62°
Precip0%Wind6 mphUV7Humidity76%
Rained 0.8″ yesterday (1.7″ 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 84°63°
Thu 89°68° 30%
Fri 95°71° 32%
Sat 93°71° 32%
Sun 96°69°
Mon 95°73°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.2 mi in (~5 min). Leave by 7:40 PM for the 8:04 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:24 PM — 12 min before dark. Car visible from the viewpoint

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

More from this trailhead

Hikes near Willows, Massachusetts