Upper Pit / Carlson's Reservoir–Steel Derrick Quarry, 9 lakes is a 5-mile out-and-back in Carlson Quarry Watershed near Pigeon Cove, MA. The route passes Back Beach, Flat Ledge Quarry, Upper Pit / Carlson's Reservoir and 5 more before reaching Nickerson Pit at the turnaround, 2.5 miles in. It climbs 253 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 4/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi52 – 203 ft5.6 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Old Quarry Road 42.66516, -70.62667
Nearest town Pigeon Cove, MA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Upper Pit / Carlson's Reservoir–Steel Derrick Quarry, 9 lakes
5 mi · ▲ 253 ft · 1 hr 48 min
Elevation 53–202 ft
Out & Back · Carlson Quarry Watershed
Trailhead: Old Quarry Road · 42.66516, -70.62667
Weather Sep 20: Drizzle, high 62°F / low 50° · precip 44% · wind 5 mph · sunrise 6:28 AM · sunset 6:45 PM
Transit-accessible: Back Beach stop 462 m from the trailhead
- Start on Old Quarry Road, heading SW.
- 50 ftPass Back Beach.
- 50 ftPass Flat Ledge Quarry.
- 50 ftPass Upper Pit / Carlson's Reservoir.
- 0.3 miPass Butman Pit.
- 100 ftBear left, heading NW.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading NW.
- 350 ftPass Steel Derrick Quarry.
- 0.4 miSharp right, heading W.
- 0.7 miPass Bay State Quarry.
- 200 ftTurn right onto Old Rail Track, heading N.
- 0.4 miPass Pine Pit.
- 200 ftSharp left, heading E.
- 0.1 miTurn left, heading E.
- 0.2 miPass Folly Cove Shore Dive Site.
- 50 ftPass Nickerson Pit.
- 200 ftReach Upper Pit / Carlson's Reservoir, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.3 miTurn right, heading E.
- 0.6 miTurn left, heading SW.
- 0.8 miSharp left, heading S.
- 0.5 miBear left, heading NE.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading SE.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Squam Hill Road, heading SE.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Old Quarry Road, heading SE.
- 350 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
69% dirt31% unspecified
Weather
DrizzleTemperature 62°F50°
Precip44%Wind5 mphUV2Humidity88%
Rained 0.1″ 3 days ago (0.5″ over the last week)
Hourly temperatureRain chance
65°50°
Sunrise 6:28 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 6:45 PM
Mon
63°57°
67%
Tue
57°53°
Wed
58°54°
Thu
59°55°
21%
Fri
61°56°
47%
Sat
59°54°
47%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.8 mi in (~47 min). Leave by 5:39 PM for the 6:45 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:48 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: Back Beach stop 462 m from the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
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