• Site Review

US-2440 Hopkinton SP

In the summertime you’ll be lucky to find a parking spot at this popular park in the eastern part of Massachusetts. You might recognize Hopkinton from the town’s distinction as the starting line for the Boston Marathon, held in April each year. Even though the marathon course does not pass all that close to the […]

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• Site Review

US-11678 Mill Brook Bogs WMA

You can’t go too far down the road in New England before running into a cranberry bog. Cranberries love the cool weather and grow on ground that might not support other crops, plus they are an easy crop to harvest. The first bogs in New England were planted on Cape Cod in the early 1800s. […]

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• Site Review

US-8385 Farnham-Connolly SP

At just six acres, this might qualify as the smallest POTA reference I’ve activated. I had great expectations going in – this is a small park on the site of the former Canton Airport, and on a satellite view you can still make out the outlines of the primary runways in their typical WWII-era triangular […]

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• Site Review

US-11573 West Hill Dam WMA

I’m slowly learning that Apple Maps does not really show you the way to POTA happiness. On some cases it can barely show you the way to the parking lot. The picture above is what you’ll be looking at when Apple Maps announces that you’ve “Arrived!” at West Hill Dam in her chipper little voice. […]

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• Site Review

US-8402 Blue Hills SP

When you ask people in Boston about the Blue Hills, many will tell you that they were built up during the expansion of the young city as the harbor was dredged. One has visions of long trains of horse-drawn carts pulling tons of dirt and sludge up the hillside to clear the way for trader […]

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• Site Review

US-11633 Hockomock Swamp WMA

I seem to be spending a lot of time in swamps lately. It’s actually not a bad time here in New England to be thinking about swamps – the summer and fall of 2024 were very dry here, and many areas that would normally be impassable are now hike-able. US-11501 Chockalog Swamp is a perfect […]

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• Site Review

US-2424 Callahan State Park

Autumn 2024 has been a great time to explore new POTA sites. The weather has been unseasonably mild, with temperatures reaching into the high 60s many days, and plenty of sunshine. Even better for POTA, most of the parks are closed for the season, which means that you pretty much have the place to yourself. […]

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• Site Review

US-11625 Erwin Wilder WMA

The father and son had bagged one pheasant, and the young boy was excited to show it to me, a beautiful male. It was a reminder that WMAs are set aside for both wildlife management and hunting. Three more hunters were in the process of gearing up to head in to the fields. I would […]

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• Site Review

US-2464 Whitehall State Park

Whitehall is one of the small handful of parks in my area that I’ve spent some time at in my pre-POTA life, kayaking on the reservoir and hiking the six-mile loop trail. I’d already spent some quality time here and had an idea of where I wanted to operate from going in. The park is […]

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• Site Review

US-2417 Ashland State Park

In early November 2024 New England was blessed with a short stretch of 80ºF, sunny weather in what had already been a mild fall. I took the opportunity to visit a few new state parks in my area, a double treat since the parks here in Massachusetts close in October, meaning that I more or […]

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