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Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley hike—Kelly Memorial Park & Boulder Brook Reservation

February 19, 2022 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

First thing I noticed was the welcoming committee of robins, over a dozen of them flitting around Kelly Memorial Park on a mid 40-degree February morning. According to Mass Audubon, the common songbirds are either overwintering here or came down earlier in the season from more northern New England points or Canada. They thank you for your backyard feeders. The next hello came from a friendly and photogenic pup, emerging from the woodland path. Behind him, a walker on crutches, despite the icy conditions. Encouraged, I strapped on my Yaktrax and started my 1.6-mile loop walk from Kelly Memorial Park, through Boulder Brook Reservation, to the top of of the rocky ledges, then back down via a short border-jump over to Weston, and back to the Elmwood Road parking lot.

Kelly Memorial Park, Wellesley
The dirt parking lot at Kelly Memorial Park on Elmwood road has room for about 10 cars. The sign, above, is at the trailhead.

For this hike, I followed the purple arrows. There are many off-shoot paths in the Kelly Field and Boulder Brook areas, which is what makes the spot so popular with kids and families who want to get out and run around in nature. But for today, I kept to the path most traveled.

Kelly Memorial Park, woodland path, Wellesley
The purple arrow trail leads over to Kelly Fields and Katharine Lee Bates Elementary school.

 

Fairy Rock, Wellesley
As I walked down the path from the Kelly parking lot, I soon came across Fairy Rock, a popular climbing spot for kids. On the right side of the path is a meandering stone wall, a remnant of the area’s farming days.

 

Katharine Lee Bates School, Wellesley
Katharine Lee Bates School, Wellesley

The path opens up to a view of the Kelly Field, and Katharine Lee Bates elementary school beyond the playing fields. In warmer weather the field is full of teams taking advantage of the four baseball diamonds and multiple soccer areas. I stayed to the left and walked along the paved part of the path that continues on behind the baseball backstop and along Boulder Brook.

Boulder Brook Reservation, Wellesley

 

Boulder Brook Reservation, Wellesley
The wooden bridge leads to the Boulder Brook Reservation meadow, a 31-acre parcel that was once part of Boulder Brook Farm, a working dairy farm in the 1900s. The property was purchased by the Town in 1966.

Boulder Brook Reservation, Wellesley
A mown path through the meadow is maintained by the town in spring, summer, and most of fall. In late autumn the entire meadow is mowed to prevent reforestation of the area. Follow this trail as it veers to the right and into woods.

 

Elephant Rock, Wellesley
Elephant Rock, Wellesley

As I entered the woods, I kept an eye out for Elephant Rock on the left, another great climbing rock for kids. From here, I was headed to Rocky Ledges, a popular spot to see the sunset in Wellesley.

Boulder Brook Reservation, bridge
This bridge was constructed about ten years ago as an Eagle Scout project by Peter Shellito, Troop 185.

 

Boulder Brook Reservation

 

Once over the bridge, I took the trail to the right and found the base of the rocky ledges. This was probably the hardest part of the hike in terms of finding the trail. It was also maybe a little ill-advised of me to keep going given the icy conditions, but I’m stubborn that way.

Boulder Brook Reservation
I was feeling lucky to make it to the top of  the rocky ledges. Wellesley College is over to the left, and Pegan Hill in Natick is to the right, but even with the leaves off the trees I wasn’t able to see them. The trees have really grown over the past ten years.

 

Boulder Brook Reservation, Weston area
Weston part of the hike.

On my way down I skirted Weston, as you can see by the trail marker that features a green pine tree on a white background. This was a steep section, made more challenging by the ice. Very few people have been down this way lately.

Boulder Brook Reservation, bridge

Once I made it to the bottom of the ledges, I picked up the purple trail once more, kept to the right, and retraced my steps back over the Eagle Scout bridge.

Boulder Brook Reservation, bench, Wellesley

I kept to the left of the bench and headed back toward the meadow.

Boulder Brook Reservation, Wellesley

As I retraced my steps through the meadow, the robins showed up again and kept me company until I re-crossed the Boulder Brook bridge, back to the Kelly Field area. The hike took about an hour. I’ll be back in the spring, when the robins will be joined by many other species of birds and other wildlife.

MORE:

Wellesley Trails Committee shares 6 guided trails walks

Beyond Wellesley: a 2-mile hike around Weston Reservoir

You can see Mt. Monadnock on a bright winter day on Pegan Hill


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Filed Under: Hikes, Outdoors

Comments

  1. Mary Ann says

    February 19, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    This is by far, one of the very best walks –or climbs — in Wellesley depending on your time and energy. I used to walk it every morning when I lived on Northgate Road, and climbed it on weekends.

    After one big snowfall, a neighbor and I climbed Rocky Ledges on x cross country skis after suffering cabin fever. We were lucky to have survived with no broken bones.or necks. Not advisable! 😉

    Reply
  2. Bonny Nothern says

    February 21, 2022 at 8:14 am

    Wonderful narrative! Inspiring. Nice to read references to the Eagle Scout project. Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Denny says

    February 21, 2022 at 9:57 am

    For an updated link to Wellesley Trails ten most favorite walks, see https://wellesleyma.gov/1724/Favorite-Trail-Walks

    Reply

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