Take A Hike! Some of the Best Places to Go

 By Abby Campbell

During the height of the pandemic, Calli West hit the hiking trails in the area.

“With the pandemic and no sports my freshman year, hiking was sometimes my escape,” West said. 

Some of the parks West has hiked are Ellisville Harbor State Park in Plymouth and Borderland State Park. 

“Being online constantly was draining and having no change in scenery was tough, hiking helped in keeping me sane,” West said. 

West said with things turning back to normal, she doesn’t have as much time to hike. 

West was surprised at how accessible it was to go hiking, and found the information you could learn from the signs scattered throughout the areas interesting.  

Many people rediscovered outdoor activities as West did hiking. Even now, people are still heading out to local state parks. 

During the pandemic, people looked to be outside where they didn’t have to be masked. Now, with the restrictions lifted, people are still heading to state parks and reservations for hiking. 

Some of those places are in the backyard of North Easton, such as Borderland State Park, managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. 

Every couple of Sundays, Borderland hosts a group called the Southeastern MA Adult Walking Club. 

This club goes to different state parks and leads free hikes. 

In Sharon, there is a Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary called Moose Hill. 

Moose Hill is the first and oldest Mass Audubon Sanctuary, established in 1916.

All programs, including outdoors programs like maple sugaring, have decreased since the beginning of the pandemic, Christine Lajewski, who works at the front desk, said. 

Some reasons for their outdoor programs diminishing were due to staff being let go because of the pandemic, she said. 

Lajewski said the visitor center had been closed so entry fees for hiking the trails were eliminated. 

Without a fee, more people were encouraged to come to the park making it more formal to an extent, Lajewski said. 

Lajewski said the number of hikers has been steady. 

Other state parks for hiking include Ellisville Harbor State Park in Plymouth, and Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Hanson that also have hiking opportunities.