Near Lynn Woods Loop
Almost to Dungeon Rock
Near Lynn Woods Loop
Undercliff Path near Needham's Crossing" courtesy of the Lynn Woods Ranger.
Near Lynn Woods Loop
View from Stone Tower" courtesy of the Lynn Woods Ranger.
Near Lynn Woods Loop
Waycross Road" courtesy of the Lynn Woods Ranger.

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Hike Route

Lynn Woods Loop

4.7 (3 Ratings)
A grand looping tour of some of the highlights at one of the largest municipal parks in the country.
6.7
mi
Distance
604
ft
Gain
moderate
Difficulty
BirdingFall ColorsLakeViewsWildlife
Access Issues
Sunrise to sunset. Open to hiking, running, horseback riding (on orange-blazed fire roads), mountain bikes (except for winter and foot-traffic trails), and cross country skiing. No swimming, boating, or fishing.

Route Details

Flatter
Steeper
6.65mi
Distance
604ft
Elevation Gain
604ft
Elevation Loss
35%
Max Grade
286ft
High Point
85ft
Low Point
Path Type
Loop
Description
From Route 129, head northwest onto the !Great !Woods Road entrance to access the parking area along the baseball field. Head south (left) into the woods onto the Great Woods Road for a nice, undulating warm-up through the woods. Though this hike stays on the fire road, look for occasional spur trails that head to the right to the !Walden Pond shoreline, like the Tracy Trail, which you can hike along before cutting back left (south) to rejoin the fire road. Around the 1.3-mile mark, continue onto Pennybrook Road as it bends to the left (south) toward the Penny Bridge. Cross the bridge and turn right onto Walden Pond Road as it climbs up and around Fuller Hill. At mile 2.5, turn left onto the Mount Moriah Path to continue the ascent, this time to Mount Moriah, where occasional views can be found in the winter months when the leaves are down. This section of the Reservation features numerous boulders and rocky crags as evidence of the glacial history through this area.Continue to look for painted blazes on trees along the official trails or keep an eye on the Mobile App for on-trail navigation.Stay straight along the hiking/walking Mount Moriah Path or worse comes to worst, head left (east) to find Pennybrook Road which will rejoin this route at the Pennybrook Entrance. Before the parking area, around the 3.75-mile mark, there is an optional spur that heads left (east) to Cedar Hill. At the !Pennybrook Road Entrance, head along the road loop looking for the Pennybrook Road entrance. Head along the fire road for a few hundred feet before arriving at intersection C7-7 and the Undercliff Path heading to the right (northeast).Stay on the Undercliff Path as it heads through Needham's Clearing, up along the eastern boundary of Tomlin's Swap and Swamp Island. Turn right at intersection C5-4 and right again on Dungeon Road. After a hundred yards or so, look for a left at intersection C6-1 to cut east, beginning the ascent above Long Swamp onto Cooke Road, which heads up Burrill Hill to the Stone Tower. After enjoying the rewarding views of the Boston !Skyline and surrounding areas, continue northeast, either on Cooke Road or the Stone Tower Connector (D6-1 - E6-2) to the Cornel Path back to the parking area on the Great Woods Road.
History & Background
Founded in 1881 with around 2,200 acres, Lynn Woods is one of the largest municipal parks in the entire U.S.

Route Conditions

Report Conditions
No Condition Reports
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Contributors
Zander Gopfert