Another Monadnock [Mount Watatic]

Right before I started work, we went for one last hike so I would really know what I was missing out on while spending eight hours a day in an office/lab. We drove over to Mount Watatic, which, like Mount Monadnock, is a monadnock, or inselberg (“island-peak”). As of 2002, Watatic is managed as conservation land by a partnership of 6 groups representing the towns it lies in, land trusts, and state departments. It stands 1832 feet tall in Ashburnham and Ashby, MA just south of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, and the Wapack and Midstate Trails both pass over/around the mountain.

While looking for information about Watatic online, I found a blog post that mentioned the relatively small parking lot filling up at 7 am on a summer weekend. Even on a weekday in spring, the parking lot was consistently almost full, with only one or two open spots at any given moment. We did manage to park without too much fuss, and then we were off on the trail. It’s pretty typical New England hiking, through forests and up rocks. There’s a stream crossing a few tenths of a mile in, but there were enough stepping stones and the water was low enough that it didn’t cause any trouble.

Hiking at a fairly leisurely pace, we covered the approximately 1 mile to the summit in 35-40 minutes. At the true summit, there’s a stone marker with some words about the mountain and a pile of rocks, but not much of a view. If you walk about another couple hundred feet to the south, there’s a shoulder/secondary summit that does have great panoramic views. To the south is Mount Wachusett, Mount Monadnock is visible to the northwest, and on a clearer day than we had, you may be able to see Boston to the east. We spent some time at the summit and lookout point having lunch and enjoying the views, then headed back down.

Mount Watatic summit marker

From the summit, the options are to return down the same way for an out-and-back mileage of 2.1 miles, or go around by Nutting Hill to make a 2.8 mile loop with a less strenuous descent. We I chose the latter. Like the trail up, the way down almost immediately drops into wooded areas with little to no views of the surrounding area, but it’s still an enjoyable walk. On our way back to the parking lot, we also opted to make a detour to walk to New Hampshire so we could cross the state line on foot.

Summit view to the south Wachusett (with ski trails visible) to the right

Potentially Monadnock in the center (with the tower on top)

Overall, Watatic is a nice hike, not too long or strenuous, but with better than average views. Before making the drive home, we stopped by Trap Falls in Willard Brook State Forest a few miles down the road, so we got a mountain and a waterfall in the same day.

Trap Falls handheld long exposure (1/5 s at 12 mm, so don't zoom in)