Photo Credit: JJ Toothman
Start your trip at Noanet by parking by the Caryl Park athletic fields in Dover, MA. It’s a nice field and depending on weather, having a kite, frisbee, or soccer ball isn’t a bad idea. You know, its not a bad idea to just have a frisbee and kite in your car pretty much all the time. They don’t take up any space.
A map of Noanet Woodlands is posted at Caryl Park, but it never hurts to bring your own. From the fields, you’ll head out on Caryl Loop towards the mill site. That’s just under a mile over mostly flat terrain.
- Photo Credit: JJ Toothman
Photo Credit: JJ Toothman
When you reach the mill site, there’s a picnic table perched next to the dam. It’s the perfect place for a snack break or even a picnic lunch. You won’t find any place to buy food out here and any kind of snack shack would just ruin the landscape anyway. The point is, bring your own food. If you fill your thermos with soup (do people still do that?), this would be the place to enjoy it. If your thermos is full of hot cocoa, you might want to consider holding onto it until you reach the next stop. If you don’t have a thermos, keep reading this issue.
Photo Credit: JJ Toothman
Once you’ve recharged, its time to head to the top of Noanet Peak. That thermos of hot cocoa may be the necessary motivation to help push your little kids to the top. The climb is about ¾ of a mile and while it’s not terribly steep, a little child might think otherwise. I’ve seen fathers pull strollers up the trail.
When you reach the top, there’s a great place to unwind while taking in a 360 degree view of greater Boston. Bust out the cocoa and marshmallows and enjoy.
For some parents, this may be the first hike where your little ones climb to the top of a (small) mountain on their own and get the reward of a fantastic view when they reach the summit. It’s something to think about ahead of time. You won’t want to miss the look of wonderment when it happens. Capturing this moment will take some precision timing, but if you can manage to pull it off, you’ll have a lifetime treasure. If you capture that one shining moment or any other images you are proud of you’re welcome to post them on our Facebook Page. We love to see that sort of thing!