Hiking in MetroWest Massachusetts in March

Hiking in MetroWest Massachusetts in March means mud. The frost comes out of the ground from the top down, so for a few weeks the trails are a layer of soup over a layer of ice. It is a quiet month, though, and the light is back: twelve hours of it by the equinox, and an evening hour gained when the clocks change on the second Sunday.

Mud season, honestly

A typical March day starts frozen and ends soft. At 8 AM the low spots are sheet ice and you want traction spikes. By 2 PM the same spots are ankle-deep. Old snow lingers on north-facing slopes and in the pine shade long after the fields are bare.

Three habits keep you and the trail in good shape:

• Walk through the mud, not around it. Stepping around widens the path and tramples the edges.
• Pick firm surfaces on the wettest days (suggestions below) and save the low woodland loops for April.
• Keep a towel and a spare pair of shoes in the car.

Land managers sometimes close trails for their own reasons at this time of year. The Trustees note that trails at Chestnut Hill Farm may be closed periodically for agricultural or forestry work.

Where to go hiking in MetroWest Massachusetts in March

The Aqueduct Trail

In a wet week, the best local surface is the Aqueduct Trail. The town describes a path 10 to 12 feet wide with a hard-packed surface and a half-mile paved section, built on the top of an inactive water supply aqueduct. It overlaps the Sudbury Reservoir Trail and the Boroughs Loop in Southborough, so you still get the water views. Because it runs over DCR watershed land, dogs and bicycles are not allowed. DCR's rules and maps have the detail.

A boardwalk in Natick

Mass Audubon's Broadmoor, about 30 minutes east in Natick, has a 0.6-mile All Persons Trail with a 430-foot boardwalk through the marsh. The rest of its eight miles have roots and rough ground, in Mass Audubon's own description, so ask at the nature center what is passable. Trails are closed on Mondays except holidays. Admission is charged for non-members, and dogs are not allowed.

Open ground that dries first

South-facing fields shed their snow and drain before the woods do. Breakneck Hill Conservation Land, about 88 acres of former farmland in Southborough, is mostly open meadow. The town's regulations allow dogs on the trails, off leash only if they stay in sight and answer to voice, and they ban bicycles and horses. Once the snow has gone, everyone stays on the marked trails.

Callahan State Park, 15 to 20 minutes away, has the same advantage on a bigger scale, with seven miles of marked trails and wide fields. Expect the gateways and the dips to be churned up. It is a popular park with dog walkers.

The big park down the road

Hopkinton State Park is about 10 minutes from Southborough. In March it is nearly empty and the parking is free, since DCR only charges from Memorial Day weekend. The walk across the historic earthen dam, which DCR credits with some of the best views in the park, is the obvious choice.

Drive times are approximate, from Southborough town center, and vary with traffic, especially near Route 9 and the Mass Pike.

Salamander nights

March has one event worth staying up for. On the first rainy nights when the air is above about 40°F, wood frogs and spotted salamanders leave the woods and walk to their breeding pools. MassWildlife explains the vernal pools they are heading for, and asks drivers to go slowly or stay home on those nights, because the animals cross roads in numbers and are close to invisible.

A week or so later, any small woodland pool is loud with wood frogs by day and spring peepers by night. The pond in the garden at Southborough Garden Retreat has frogs of its own, and they are not far behind.

Still closed, still hunted, already ticking

• Garden in the Woods does not reopen until spring is properly under way, usually around the middle of April. Check its page.
• At Purgatory Chasm, DCR closes the Chasm Trail for the winter season because the rock is slippery. Do not assume it has reopened in March.
• Most hunting seasons have ended. Coyote season runs into early March in the MassWildlife summary, and spring turkey season does not begin until late April. Dates change yearly. No hunting on Sundays.
• Adult deer ticks are active on any day above freezing, according to the state's tick guidance. Tuck trousers into socks and check at night.

After the mud

The house has a gym with a Peloton, a Tonal and a rowing machine for the days when the trails are simply too wet to be fun, and a projector room with a 100-inch screen for the evening. Jillian, the host, can suggest where the footing is best that week.

Neighbouring months: February and April. For the whole season, see the spring outdoors overview, and for the year-round basics, our guide to trails near Southborough.

Useful links

• Town of Southborough: Aqueduct Trail
• Town of Southborough: Sudbury Reservoir Trail
• DCR watershed public access rules and maps
• Mass Audubon: Broadmoor, Natick
• Town of Southborough: Breakneck Hill Conservation Land
• DCR: Callahan State Park
• DCR: Hopkinton State Park
• MassWildlife: vernal pools
• MassWildlife: watch for amphibians on the road
• MassWildlife: 2026 hunting season summary
• Mass. Department of Public Health: tick-borne disease prevention