Blue Hills Reservation

This is the 500^th post on my blog! Today, I will talk about the last stop during my adventure in Milton, MA. I visited Blue Hills Reservation, a park managed by the Department of Conservation & Recreation in Massachusetts (DCR), which includes Blue Hills Trailside Museum managed by Mass Audubon and independent Blue Hills Observatory & Science Center.

The entire reservation is huge, with more than 7,000 acres (28.3 sq km) of land and 125 miles (201 km) of trails. I hiked only a small portion of the trails when going up the hill to Eliot Tower and Blue Hills Observatory on the summit and back down the hill to the museum. While I am accustomed to trails having poorly designed maps and nearly unmarked trails, this experience was exceptionally bad. Upon arriving at Eliot Tower, I was treated to some of the best views I have seen on a hike in Massachusetts. However, I soon learned from a temporary trail sign that the relatively short path between the tower and the observatory was closed, forcing me to go back down the hill and take the paved road to the observatory. Upon arriving at the observatory, I was informed that tours were not being given that day, although I had emailed ahead and received an email back claiming that tours would be happening.

Despite these disappointments, the hike was a chance to look at interesting historic architecture. The tower was named for Charles Eliot, a partner at the Frederick Law Olmsted landscape architecture practice, which is now a national park that I visited a few years ago. Eliot was hired by the Metropolitan Park Commission to design carriage paths amid the forest, much different than the garden-like parks that were popular at the time. Eliot would become a founder of The Trustees of Reservations, a collection of non-profit parks which I frequently visit. Eliot died suddenly in 1897 at age thirty-seven of spinal meningitis, leaving behind his wife and two small children.

The observatory was founded by meteorologist Abbott Lawrence Rotch in 1885 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989 after its placement on the Register in 1980. Rotch was a recent graduate of MIT at the time of the founding, along with being independently wealthy. He built the observatory with his own money and invited others to study weather with him, along with publishing many papers and books. Similar to Eliot, Rotch died suddenly in 1912 at age 51 from a ruptured appendix. He was survived by his wife and their four children, the youngest of which was six years old. If you are an important man who works at Blue Hills, be very careful. Another accolade for the building includes its selection as a Centennial Observing Station by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which monitors weather, climate, and water around the world.

My final stop at this location was Blue Hills Trailside Museum at the bottom of the hill next to the spacious parking lot. This museum costs just $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children ages 2 to 12, and that may be overpriced. The exhibits contained a few large animals outside, a few small animals inside, taxidermy, and a replica wetu, also known as a wigwam. I had seen much nicer wetus at Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, Mystic Seaport, and Heritage Museum & Gardens. The museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday and should take no more than thirty minutes. This is a good first museum experience for young children but does not offer much for other demographics. If you visit Blue Hills Reservation, which is open all year and includes a ski area in the winter, be prepared for hilly hikes and detours, and avoid going into the buildings.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 4/10

Accessibility: 5/10