Rails, Whitney Spur Rail Trail, Hingham MA.jpg
John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Whitney Spur Rail Trail is a 5.3-mile out-and-back in Wompatuck State Park near South Hingham, MA. It is mostly level, with 82 ft of elevation gain. It scores 5/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi43 – 112 ft6.3 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 42.20911, -70.85556
Nearest town South Hingham, MA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Whitney Spur Rail Trail

5.3 mi · ▲ 82 ft · 1 hr 48 min

Elevation 43–112 ft

Out & Back · Wompatuck State Park

Trailhead: 42.20911, -70.85556

Weather Aug 4: Overcast, high 83°F / low 63° · precip 0% · wind 6 mph · sunrise 5:40 AM · sunset 8:01 PM

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading N.
  2. 0.5 miSharp right, heading E.
  3. 0.3 miTurn left, heading NE.
  4. 350 ftTurn left, heading N.
  5. 100 ftBear left, heading NW.
  6. 200 ftTurn right, heading NW.
  7. 50 ftBear left, heading W.
  8. 0.1 miBear right, heading NW.
  9. 150 ftTurn left, heading NW.
  10. 0.1 miTurn left, heading NW.
  11. 150 ftTurn right, heading NW.
  12. 250 ftBear left, heading W.
  13. 50 ftTurn left, heading W.
  14. 50 ftBear right, heading W.
  15. 50 ftTurn right, heading W.
  16. 150 ftTurn left, heading NW.
  17. 50 ftTurn right, heading NW.
  18. 0.2 miContinue straight onto Whitney Spur Rail Trail, heading NE.
  19. 50 ftTurn right, heading NE.
  20. 0.4 miTurn right onto James Hill Lane, heading NE.
  21. 250 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  22. 0.2 miBear right, heading E.
  23. 500 ftBear left, heading N.
  24. 50 ftTurn left, heading N.
  25. 50 ftTurn right, heading N.
  26. 0.4 miReach the turnaround, then head back the way you came.
  27. 0.4 miTurn left, heading SE.
  28. 50 ftTurn right, heading SE.
  29. 50 ftBear right, heading SE.
  30. 450 ftBear left, heading NW.
  31. 0.3 miTurn left onto Whitney Spur Rail Trail, heading N.
  32. 0.4 miTurn right, heading S.
  33. 0.2 miTurn left, heading S.
  34. 50 ftTurn right, heading S.
  35. 200 ftTurn left, heading SW.
  36. 50 ftBear left, heading SW.
  37. 50 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  38. 100 ftBear right, heading SW.
  39. 250 ftTurn left, heading SW.
  40. 150 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  41. 0.1 miTurn right, heading S.
  42. 150 ftBear left, heading S.
  43. 0.1 miBear right, heading SW.
  44. 50 ftTurn left, heading W.
  45. 200 ftBear right, heading W.
  46. 100 ftTurn right, heading W.
  47. 350 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  48. 0.3 miSharp left, heading SE.
  49. 0.4 miArrive back at the trailhead.

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

Trail surface

40% dirt36% paved9% gravel15% unspecified

Weather

OvercastTemperature 83°F63°
Precip0%Wind6 mphUV7Humidity79%
Rained 0.5″ yesterday (1″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
85°60°
Sunrise 5:40 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:01 PM
Wed 84°63°
Thu 88°71° 27%
Fri 94°73° 28%
Sat 89°70° 36%
Sun 86°68° 16%
Mon 93°74° 15%

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.7 mi in (~17 min). Leave by 7:23 PM for the 8:01 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:33 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp. Trailhead visible from the viewpoint

More sunset hikes nearby

Other ways to reach this destination

More from this trailhead