Distance: 2 miles, with options for more
Difficulty: Easy Side of Moderate
Fee to use state forest
Located in Townsend and Ashby, Massachusetts is Willard Brook State Forest. This state forest offers an array of outdoor activities from camping, fishing, hiking and swimming. There are a few different areas to Willard State Forest so I highly recommend you check out their map.
I recently did some hiking at the Damon Pond section of the state forest. Located on Townsend Road/Route 119 in Ashby is the entrance to Damon Pond. There is a fee to enter.
At the entrance is a large parking lot with an a small building hosting a nature center. On one side of the entrance is Damon Pond, which is used for fishing, picnicking and swimming.
On the other side was more picnic tables, a dam and a covered bridge marking the start of the hiking trails.
I started by walking across the covered bridge to hike the Brook Trail.
The Brook Trail follows Willard Brook along a well marked trail. Follow the blue blazes for a beautiful stream walk. There are a few different pools where it looks like you can dip your feet or sit on the rocks to enjoy the water. The water looked clean, but I am not sure the quality of it.
I visited in mid June and the Mt. Laurel were in bloom and just stunning. Photos do not do justice to these beautiful flowers. The trail had an abundance of them.
About three quarters of the way down the trail is an incline that veers away from Willard Brook giving you a little workout.
Follow this trail to the end where you will come to a dirt road. It is a little over a mile to the road. You can either turn around to head back to Damon Pond or walk down the road and cross Route 119 to Trap Falls. I chose to turn around as I have visited the falls on several occasions. I really enjoyed the various views of Willard Brook on my hike back.
There are a couple intersections that go to different trails within the forest. I have not explored those trails yet. The round trip hike was a little over 2 miles where most of the trail was flat expect the incline towards the end. The only downside of the trail is that on the other side of Willard Brook is Townsend Road/Route 119 which is a busy road, so I was constantly hearing cars driving by. Other than traffic noise, I loved the flowing water and the abundance of beautiful Mt. Laurel. I also want to picnic near the dam and foot bridge. I cannot wait to return to explore more of this state forest. While you are in the area check out Three Bridges Trail, also part of Willard State Forest.
