Boxford to Georgetown

The long May weekend is behind us. Weather was pretty decent, which means at least it wasn't raining, but unfortunately, it was way too sunny for may taste. I explained previously why cloudy and cool weather is best for bike riding. This wasn't the case the last weekend.

Still, I couldn't just sit at home the whole time. I decided to ride a quick loop around Boxford and Georgetown, starting in North Andover at Harold Parker State Forest (HPSF). If you live in this area, you know this place well, I'm sure. It's a very popular spot for mountain bikers, with plenty of rough forest trails to explore.

I visited HPSF multiple times before, but I've never tried to drive there. It's relatively close to my house so usually I just bike there directly. This time however, since I wanted to go further north, in order to save time I drove to the park and decided to leave my car there. I was surprised that it costs $5 for a day pass to park in HPSF. Either it's a new thing there, or I completely missed that before. Anyway, it's not a big deal. I'll gladly pay a fee, if it helps protecting the few remaining large forested areas in our suburbs.

I followed the main road towards Stearns Pond, passing several mountain bikers on the way. My goal was to make my way further north towards Boxford.

I was positively surprised by Boxford State Forest. It's smaller than HPSF but at the same time it's less crowded. There is a network of trails running through the forest and most of them are relatively rocky. In general, a bike with wide tires is preferred. I rolled on 2.2" wide Maxxis tires but if you come here with your gravel bike, you will likely do just fine.

A good chunk of my route followed the Bay Circuit Trail. This is a hiking trail that runs all around the Boston Metro area from north to south. The trail is quite long and I was thinking about riding the full length of it at some point. This would require camping somewhere on the way but such options are relatively limited in Boston's suburbs. I need to figure out whether that's actually doable.

The last larger forest I visited on my way was Georgetown-Rowley State Forest. It's much more remote than the first two, so I didn't see anyone when riding through it. Seemed like I pretty much had the whole forest for myself.

On my way back I used a shortcut via Brook Street in North Andover. This road is closed for cars as it's frequently flooded by wetlands on both sides. As a result, it's quiet here and wildlife can flourish. I ran into a heron sitting in the middle of the road. Looks like I need to remember to bring my telephoto lens the next time. I could only get so close to the heron before he got scared and flew away.

The real fun however, starts when you get to the Mary French Reservation just off Korinthian Way in Andover. There is a single trail running across those wetlands and is all on a boardwalk - one of the longest and narrowest boardwalks I know around Boston. It continues in a tall grass across the open area and then into the forest. It can certainly be crossed by bike as long as you have a somewhat decent sense of balance.

It took me 3.5 hrs to complete this 30-mi route and I'm glad there are still places like these around Boston. In this highly urbanized area, it's difficult to find nice places to ride, away from crowds, away from cars and somewhere in nature.