Lynn Woods Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · Views · Wildlife

Making up a fifth of the land area of the city of Lynn, Lynn Woods Reservation attracts numerous trail users with lots of room to explore. Most of the trails are wide with good footing, though some stretches are rockier with exposed roots to watch out for.

This loop uses the ample parking available at the Great Woods Road entrance, heads along the southwest shore of Walden Pond, before looping to the south between Birch Pond and Tomlin's Swamp, and back up Undercliff Path for a final ascent and rewarding viewpoint at Burrill Hill's Stone Tower.

Bug spray or long sleeves can be helpful during warmer, wetter months.

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 Hiking Project 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.

Deer, coyotes, foxes, songbirds, geese, ducks.

Founded in 1881 with around 2,200 acres, Lynn Woods is one of the largest municipal parks in the entire U.S.