Houghton’s Pond at Blue Hills Reservation Is a Massachusetts Jewel

My wife and I have hiked before at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton. On a clear day, the view of the Boston skyline is amazing. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation manages the reservation, which covers 7,000 acres from Quincy to Dedham and Milton to Randolph.

The Blue Hills Reservation is just outside Boston and only 45 minutes from New Bedford.

Though we've visited the Blue Hills Reservation before, we've never explored Houghton's Pond Recreation Area, a part of the reservation, until recently. We will be back.

Twenty-four acres in size and up to 42 feet in depth, DCR says Houghton's Pond is a "spring-fed kettle hole pond formed by receding glaciers approximately 10,000 years ago."

"The Massachuseck Indians fished the pond and hunted the surrounding lands," according to DCR. "From the Colonial period through the late 1800s, several generations of the Houghton family farmed the area."

There is no fee to enter Houghton's Pond Recreation Area. There are five first-come, first-served picnic sites for groups of 25 or fewer. Groups of 25 or more are charged a fee for a large picnic site and must reserve it in advance.

There is a "seasonally supervised" swimming beach, stocked fishing, restrooms, a bathhouse, a concession stand and three reservable ballfields.

The Houghton's Pond Recreation Area is open year-round, as is the Visitor's Center, which has restrooms.

My favorite part of Houghton's Pond is the yellow dot walking trail that rings the pond. The trail is easy to navigate with spectacular views. I imagine it will be a fabulous location for leaf-peeping this fall without having to climb.