Distance: 1-3.5 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
I have been hearing a lot about this trail and was recently in the area so I wanted to check it out. I ended up doing it on two different days because the first time we hike the trail, I parked at the wrong end and we did not make it to the main feature of the trail, which is the waterfall.
The first time we hiked it we parked the the trailhead located off Horace Greeley Road in Bedford. From Rt 101 we turned onto Joppa Hill Road. We followed the road until the intersection of Horace Greeley Road and Joppa Hill Road. There is a farm directly in front of you. Turn left and the trail head is on your right I would guess between a quarter of a mile to a half mile from the turn. There is a small sign marking the trailhead, but it is easy to miss. There is room for 1-2 cars to park here or your can drive a little bit down the dirt road. It can be muddy if we have had a lot of rain. There is a little bit bigger parking lot for 2-4 cars depending on the size of the cars. There is a small kiosk marking the start of the trail.
You start out of by walking along a bog where you can see beaver and birds. There are planks to walk over.
Then you head into the woods for a few minutes before coming to a split into the trail. You can go straight which loops you further up the trail, but is longer or you can take a left into the field. We went left through the field. There are signs stating animal activity in the field so they ask that you walk on the outskirts of the field to the other side and go back into the woods.
You meander through the woods, up little hills and over streams. We talked about a mile and half in, but due to having movie tickets, we did not have enough time to complete the whole three and half mile trail. I was disappointed that we did not make it to the main feature of the trail.
Since some of my coworkers live in this area I asked them about the trail. Of course we parked at the wrong end to see the falls. There is nothing wrong with doing the hike from where we started, but if you are on a time crunch I would not recommend it.
Since I hate to leave a trail unfinished I followed my co workers instructions and went back a second time, this time we parking at a much bigger parking lot off of New Boston Road in Bedford. This parking lot was better marked and had room for multiple cars. There is a sign that you need to lock your cars and secure your belongings, which I do not see at many trail heads so I wonder if there has been some break ins here.
We followed the Kennard Trail for almost a mile to Pulpit rock. We started out by walking on some board walks. Then following a fairly flat trail until we reached Pulpit Rock. There are a few side trails, but you want to stay on the Kennard Trail.
Once at Pulpit Rock there is a kiosk with information about the area.
You can stand and look down in to the gorge.
There are trails around the rock and down into the gorge. Due to the ice we were not able to get all the way down, but were able to get some decent views.
I am excited to come back and explore when there is no ice. Please use caution as the rocks can be very slippery, if you are hiking with kids make sure they stay away from the rocks.
If you want a shorter hike I would start from the New Boston Road side, if you are looking for a longer hike I would start from the Horace Greeley Road Side.
