Evening Hike up North Mountain in Pawtuckaway State Park

I met up with my friend Joy her dog River to go for a quick evening hike in Pawtuckaway State Park. We entered the park on the Deerfield side of the park through reservation road.

We parked at the gate to head up North Mountain. Weather was a little warm but overall it was nice. There is enough room for several cars to park.

When we started out there is a large foundation we checked out. It was constructed with really large blocks of granite. This must have been a big structure. A barn perhaps? I would love to see pics of what it looked like in its heyday.

This is not a long hike. Only about 1.5 miles up and the same back. The first section of trail is relatively easy with only a slight elevation. This led us to a large junction with lots of trail options.

We were headed up North Mountain so that is the trail we took. This is where we start to climb. Most of our elevation happed in the next quarter to half mile.

Once on the ridge, we were treated to some great views of Middle and South Mountains. The sun was setting and it gave the leaves a nice glow. We could even see the fire tower from our viewpoint.

After a quick break the three of us continued along the ridge. There were some ups and downs along the way. Finally, we arrived at the last little push to the summit of North Mountain.

We took another break here and had a snack. While we were sitting eight dragonflies flew around our heads treating us to a small air show.

Mosquitos were starting to come out, and we were losing light so we did not stay long. After we packed up, we made our way back down the way we came.

We were able to get halfway down before we needed headlamps. Some sections were a little technical at night.

It didn’t take us long before we were at the trail junction. It’s just an easy walk to the car from there.

The way up seemed like it took a long time to go a short distance. But coming down, even in the dark, seemed to go by super quick.

Pawtuckaway has some great little hikes. I’ll have to remember that for after work options.