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 park, as you can imagine it is a go-to destination for marathon spectators. Apart from the race, the park is one of the most popular in eastern Massachusetts and sees thousands of visitors daily in the summer months.

I, however, arrived on a sunny November afternoon and had the place more or less to myself.

Hopkinton is built on the common park-around-a-lake model, and in this case there are two lakes and two beaches. Reservoir Beach, on the west side of Hopkinton Dam, offer lake views, boating, fishing, and is the side where nearly all of the parking lots are. To the east of the dam is Hopkinton is the Swimming Pool Reservoir, and you'll find a smallish parking lot and beach amenities. Boat rentals, picnic tables, grills, and pavilions are thick on the ground.

Note that parking here is enforced, and you'll pay $8 as a resident or $12 as a non-resident at one of the numerous meters. Massachusetts uses Yodel Pass for parking, so it's useful to have the app installed on your phone before heading out. I'll also mention that if you are 62 years old or older you can purchase a lifetime parking pass for the Massachusetts state parks for $10 at the Mass.gov website.

While the lake is the main attraction at Hopkinton, there are also over ten miles of trails through relatively flat terrain. The high point in the park is only 400 feet up, so maybe try that all-VHF activation in another spot. Saddle Hill at 518 feet is tempting but the summit sits a few hundred feet outside the park boundary. In good weather you'll probably see horseback riders from the nearby stable, and quite a few mountanbikers, too.

The terrain slopes up away from the reservoir, and I picked one of the first trailheads that I saw coming out of the parking area. It was a short walk, about ten minutes, to a clear area on the side of a hill overlooking the water, and that's where I set up the 67' EFHW. It ended up being something of a sloper – the feedpoint was above my head, and the wire ran down the hillside, west toward the lake.

It was a quiet afternoon, just a few hikers waving hello and more than a few birds, who seem to love the sound of CW. I ate a sandwich in between calls and worked fifteen QSOs before hopping over the FT8 for a few. With this antenna I typically spend at least ten minutes on 6m FT8, just to check. Nothing today, but since I was there I made quick QSOs on 15m and 10m before wrapping things up. Six often surprises me, and while I don't have a lot of 6m QSOs in the POTA log, I don't have zero, either, which is progress, I think.

If you are looking for seclusion, you are not going to find it at Hopkinton in the summer months. That said, if you are looking for a nice table to set up on with plenty of amenities nearby, this is your spot. The Boston Marathon runs around the third weekend of April and unless you are a local and know your way around, you'll likely not get near the park during that time. It also would be an excellent spot to put a kayak or rented boat in and paddle out to one of the small islands that dot the reservoir.