911 Trail [May 2023]

The 911 Loop Trail is located behind the 911 Memorial field in Southborough, MA. The 911 field is an artificial turf field used for youth soccer, football, and lacrosse that’s been in use for at least a couple of decades. I believe the 911 trail is a newer development, possibly a result of a Covid-induced renewal of interest in the outdoors, but don’t quote me on that.

The trail is a 1.2-mile loop on a peninsula in the Sudbury Reservoir. One side of the loop goes along a Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) access road while the other follows the shoreline more closely. The access road portion of the trail is wide and flat, probably accessible to strollers and mobility devices, but near the reservoir and on the other side of the loop the trail is narrower and rockier. The whole trail travels through forest and provides view of the Sudbury Reservoir.

We hiked the trail in mid-May when the leaves and ferns had reappeared after another New England winter. Lily of the valley, wild geranium, and starflowers were in bloom, and we also found a number of oak apples (oak galls). Turns out oak galls are formed by chemicals from some gall wasp larvae to protect them as they grow, so that was a fun discovery. No wildlife sightings except a possible double-crested cormorant to report, but there were a lost umbrella and multitool.

Clockwise from top left: Oak gall (cross section), lily of the valley, wild geranium, starflowers

As far as hiking trails go, the 911 Loop Trail’s on the shorter side, with minimal elevation changes, so it could be fairly easily covered in 30-60 minutes depending on how many botanical/environmental tangents you get sidetracked by (all of them, if you’re hiking with me). It’s a pleasantly wooded trail with some nice views of the reservoir, so a good easy trail with decent payoff. Quick post for a quick trail today; I’ll be back later with a report from the kitchen.

Fern land