Rattlesnake Hill–The Shield, 6 sights is a 9-mile out-and-back in Blue Hills Reservation near Readville Manor, MA. The route passes Hillside Pond, Kayla's Pond and Rattlesnake Hill before reaching The Shield at the turnaround, 4.5 miles in. It climbs 646 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 8/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi154 – 358 ft10.5 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 42.21959, -71.11839
Nearest town Readville Manor, MA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Rattlesnake Hill–The Shield, 6 sights
9 mi · ▲ 646 ft · 3 hr 19 min
Elevation 154–358 ft
Out & Back · Blue Hills Reservation
Trailhead: 42.21959, -71.11839
Weather Aug 4: Rain, high 78°F / low 70° · precip 97% · wind 8 mph · sunrise 5:40 AM · sunset 8:03 PM
Transit-accessible: 1904 Canton Ave @ Trailside Museum stop 162 m from the trailhead · Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading NE.
- 250 ftContinue straight onto Wolcott Path, heading NE.
- 300 ftTurn right onto Summit Road, heading E.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Wolcott Path, heading E.
- 1.2 miBear left, heading SE.
- 100 ftBear left, heading SE.
- 350 ftTurn left, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading SE.
- 50 ftBear left, heading SE.
- 0.2 miPass Hillside Pond.
- 350 ftBear right, heading NE.
- 0.2 miTurn left onto Dark Hollow Path, heading E.
- 50 ftBear left, heading E.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading SE.
- 50 ftBear left, heading SE.
- 0.1 miBear left, heading SE.
- 400 ftBear left, heading N.
- 0.2 miBear left, heading NE.
- 0.4 miTurn left onto Red Dot Loop, heading E.
- 350 ftTurn right, heading NE.
- 0.6 miBear left, heading NE.
- 50 ftBear right onto Headquarters Path, heading NE.
- 250 ftTurn right, heading NE.
- 0.3 miSharp right, heading NE.
- 0.5 miContinue straight onto Indian Camp Path, heading SE.
- 350 ftPass Kayla's Pond.
- 0.2 miPass The Shield.
- 250 ftSharp left, heading SE.
- 150 ftReach Rattlesnake Hill, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.8 miSharp left, heading NW.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Headquarters Path, heading SW.
- 250 ftBear left, heading NW.
- 0.6 miTurn left onto Red Dot Loop, heading W.
- 350 ftTurn right, heading W.
- 0.4 miBear right, heading S.
- 0.2 miBear right, heading SW.
- 350 ftBear right, heading SW.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading SW.
- 50 ftBear left, heading SW.
- 0.1 miBear right onto Dark Hollow Path, heading S.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 0.2 miBear left, heading SW.
- 0.3 miBear right, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading W.
- 350 ftBear right, heading SW.
- 100 ftBear right, heading SW.
- 50 ftContinue straight onto Wolcott Path, heading SW.
- 1.2 miTurn right onto Summit Road, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Wolcott Path, heading W.
- 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
60% dirt19% gravel21% unspecified
Weather
RainTemperature 78°F70°
Precip97%Wind8 mphUV2Humidity76%
Rained 0.6″ 5 days ago
Hourly temperatureRain chance
80°65°
Sunrise 5:40 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:03 PM
Tue
84°63°
Wed
84°64°
Thu
88°70°
26%
Fri
97°73°
29%
Sat
94°72°
36%
Sun
97°72°
15%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 2.8 mi in (~75 min). Leave by 6:28 PM for the 8:03 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:34 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: 1904 Canton Ave @ Trailside Museum stop 162 m from the trailhead
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from this trailhead
- Wolcott Hill–Path Continues, 3 sights 1.9 mi · ▲ 413 ft
- Border Path & Puddle Path via Wolcott Path 2 mi · ▲ 244 ft
- Hemenway Hill–Breakneck Ledge, 4 sights 2.2 mi · ▲ 300 ft
- Wolcott Path 2.4 mi · ▲ 205 ft
- Wolcott Path 2.4 mi · ▲ 205 ft
- Wolcott Path 2.5 mi · ▲ 168 ft
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Hikes near Readville Manor, Massachusetts