Pawtuckaway State Park, Round Pond Road

/ Ellen Kolb

The snowless days are ending; I’ll be shoveling my driveway in just a few days, if the forecast holds. This was my last chance to visit some nearby trails before winter conditions set in. I had planned to walk up a hill with a pretty view, but decided at the last minute to stick to level paths. I went to Pawtuckaway State Park and explored the northwest corner of the park via Reservation Road and Round Pond Road.

pound with many snags (dead trees) at the base of a forested hill
North Mountain seen from Round Pond Road. This must be a wonderful birding spot at dawn and dusk. All photos by Ellen Kolb.
a pond reflecting blue sky with light clouds
Round Pond, harshly lit on a brilliant sunny day. The pond is about two and a half miles from where I parked on Reservation Road.
glacial erratic boulders in a forest, with a backpack on the ground
A side trail from Round Pond Road leads to the Boulder Field, where the woods are full of large glacial erratics. I placed the backpack at the base of a boulder for scale.
tree trunk with cavities formed by woodpeckers
A pileated woodpecker had been hard at work on this tree.