• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Beyond Wellesley: a hike around Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts

October 26, 2018 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

This wonderfully accessible, pretty as can be, 2.5 mile loop around Gates Pond in Berlin, Massachusetts is for you, young families of Wellesley. If you’ve got active kids with energy to burn, and maybe one or two still in a stroller, this is your hike. If you’ve got a friendly, goofy Golden Retriever named Lucy or an excitable Lab named Bella (as 721 of you do according to the Town of Wellesley 2018 dog census), then yes, this hike, less than an hour away from Wellesley Square, is for you. Take a pass on this one if your kids are afraid of dogs, because canines love it here too, and some are leashed, some not. Also, if a paved path doesn’t jive with your idea of communing with nature, then it won’t be your thing. You’ve been informed.

But if you love the idea of taking your whole big, messy, rambunctious, totally fun family for a walk around a perfect New England pond under 30 miles away, this one is it.

Gates Pond, Berlin, Massachusetts
Put Taylor Road, Berlin into your GPS. The 30-car parking area is located just off Route 495. Taylor Road is a dead end, but it is the correct road to turn down. Go all the way to the end to find the parking area. Although the sign at the trail entrance says Town of Hudson (it’s managed by that town’s Department of Public Works), the pond and the trail are both located in Berlin. The circular loop walk around the pond takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

 

 

One of the lovely things about Gates Pond is its visual solitude. There are no lakeside homes, it’s just all nature. The parking is free and anyone can come and hike, run, cross country ski, or snowshoe around this pristine reservoir. (Fishing is allowed by special permit only.) Once you get out of your car, you may be dismayed by the sound of Route 495 traffic, but have faith. That all fades into the deep background as soon as you get onto the trail, and within five minutes the traffic sounds are inaudible. From here on in it’s just towering pine trees and views of the pond.

Gates Pond, Berlin, Massachusetts
The wide trail is paved and the condition of it is is anywhere from at its best, pictured above, to a combination of gravel and paving. If you’re bringing a stroller around the pond, I’d recommend your all-terrain rig. There is one approximately 25-yard hill of a mild to moderate grade, but the generally sturdy should be fine.

The trail isn’t marked with blazes because you’d have to be pretty talented to get lost on this hike. A few side trails branch off here and there, but it’s clear at all times where the main trail is. There are lots of big rocks for the kids to climb, some right at the side of the trail, others a little bit off in the woods, but not too far in. It’s also fun to go right out into the lake on the narrow spit of land and look out at the small island.

Gates Pond, Berlin, Massachusetts
So pretty, and not a structure or roadway in sight.
Gates Pond, Berlin, Massachusetts
The towering pine trees and pine-needle covered path make for a scenic walk.
Gates Pond, Berlin, Massachusetts
Meet Lucy (right), and her human friend who preferred not to be named. He keeps her leashed on their regular walks here because of the border pooch in her. “She likes to round people up like sheep. Right now she thinks you’re one of her sheep, and she wants to keep you close.” Aww, thanks for looking out for me, Lucy.
Gates Pond, Berlin, Massachusetts
What would a New England hike be without stone walls? Maybe this loosely structured boundary marker dates from 1665, when the town was first settled. There are still several operating farms in the Berlin community of approximately 2,500 people, and the town is a right-to-farm community. That means if you move here and you don’t like your neighbor’s rooster crowing at the crack of dawn, too bad for you.

Our hike done, we headed to nearby Berlin Orchards for the most wonderful apple cider donuts I’ve had all season. They have an expansive u-pick apple orchard, and their farm stand offers plenty of apples, of course, as well as cider, honey, pumpkins, mums, gourds, and more. Berlin Orchards is open 10am – 5pm every day, and there are hayrides on the weekend. The last day this is all available is Sunday, October 28, then the farm closes to the public for the season.

Berlin Orchards, Massachusetts
True confession: we stopped off at a Dunkin’ for a hot drink on the way home and brought our own donuts in with us. That’s sort of like bringing your own beer into a tap room, but we did it, and didn’t get thrown out.

It’s all going too fast, this march toward winter. I feel like every moment spent indoors is wasted, that I’m burning daylight, that my February regrets will be ever-so-bitter unless I take advantage of these mild days and this beautiful scenery now, right now. As long as the outdoor temperatures are no lower than my age minus twenty, I’ll keep getting out there. I’ll leave you to wonder exactly how hardy a soul that makes me.

print

Share

Filed Under: Entertainment, Food, Kids, Outdoors, Travel

Comments

  1. Kathleen Laplante says

    October 19, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    Unfortunately, Taylor Road, which is owned by the Town of Berlin, MA, is in an unsafe condition these days.

    *Unsafe* Road/pkg. area to Gates Pond – Taylor Road – owned by Town of Berlin, MA *Contact them*

    Pictures of the road and parking area are no where as pretty as those of Gates Pond itself, but you must take Taylor Road to get to Gates Pond, which is at the end of it.

    Reply
    • Kathleen Laplante says

      October 19, 2020 at 8:50 pm

      The Berlin, MA, Town Administrator, Highway Department, and Selectmen have been made aware with pictures of the situation. Their initial response was “no” to resurfacing the road due to budget constraints, but also “no” to putting Taylor Road on their alleged list of priorities of roads needing to be resurfaced. I asked if they really had a list that they could show me,
      and they said “no.”

      Reply
  2. deb says

    October 28, 2018 at 10:25 am

    PLEASE leash your dog! Its safer for your dog and other people. And there is a sign at the pond saying you must do so. Thank you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Write Ahead

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Admit Fit, Wellesley
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Events Calendar

« January 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
Tue 26

Rum tasting and history talk

January 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Most Read Posts

  • Wellesley Police arrest 3 juveniles following Crest Road-area car break-ins
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Babson might want to study us; Downtown Starbucks temporarily closed; Sisters of Charity partners
  • At Wellesley High, you can't have too many robotics clubs
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Linden Square tests new signs; Custom Ink setting up shop; Foundation for MetroWest has new leader; The Cottage doing takeout & delivery; visiting The Greenhouse at Lookout Farm
  • Natick issues boil water alert due to E. coli, some Wellesley homes affected

Pages

  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Please support our advertisers—they support us
  • Embracing diversity in Wellesley
  • Wellesley, MA Police logs
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Bob Brown on 10 takeaways from the Town of Wellesley’s FY20 annual report
  • S Hawkinson on 10 takeaways from the Town of Wellesley’s FY20 annual report
  • Barbara Moore Keever on Wellesley Animal Control Officer Sue Webb to retire after 45 years on the job
  • Anon on Wellesley Police arrest 3 juveniles following Crest Road-area car break-ins
  • PZ Maury on Wellesley Police arrest 3 juveniles following Crest Road-area car break-ins

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (4)
  • Animals (377)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (534)
  • Beyond Wellesley (28)
  • Books (342)
  • Business (1,356)
  • Camp (1)
  • Careers/jobs (44)
  • Churches (72)
  • Clubs (207)
  • Construction (280)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,876)
    • Babson College (239)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (47)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (598)
    • Wellesley High School (883)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (36)
  • Entertainment (721)
  • Environment (663)
  • Fashion (133)
  • Finance (12)
  • Fire (141)
  • Food (327)
  • Fundraising (559)
  • Gardens (136)
  • Government (382)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (735)
    • COVID-19 (132)
  • History (357)
  • Holidays (365)
  • Houses (118)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (814)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (5)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (5)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (96)
  • Music (543)
  • Natick Report (26)
  • Neighbors (242)
  • Obituaries (58)
  • Outdoors (582)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (687)
    • Crime (344)
  • Politics (534)
  • Real estate (286)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (302)
  • Safety (142)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (107)
  • Shopping (121)
  • Sports (897)
  • STEM (104)
  • Technology (154)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (209)
  • Travel (11)
  • Uncategorized (1,205)
  • Volunteering (316)
  • Weather (161)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (258)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login