Do you like hiking? Do you also like sleeping in? Well look no further! Next Saturday, we’ll be hiking the Cross Fells Trail, which traverses the beautiful and close by Middlesex Fells from east to west.

Trip Logistics:

Because the Fells are close by (and to avoid having to shuttle drivers around like you usually do for a traverse), we’ll be using the MBTA for transportation. The plan is to meet at Kendall Square on Saturday, take the Red Line to Downtown Crossing, then take the Orange line to Oak Grove, from which it’s a 15 minute walk to the Cross Fells Trail’s eastern trailhead in Melrose. We plan to arrive at the trailhead and start the hike by a luxurious 11 AM. And from there, we cross the Fells!

We’ll take the Cross Fells Trail going west until we cross the Fellsway East. From there we’ll temporarily switch to the Rock Circuit Trail so that we can pass by Boojum Rock (which should give us some nice views) and the site of the old MIT geodetic observatory. We’ll eventually meet back up with the Cross Fells Trail, which we’ll continue on the rest of the way to its western trailhead, maybe stopping for a break at Spot Pond to admire the scenery there as well. If you’d like more detail about the route, consult this map.

The hike itself should take about 4-5 hours, at the end of which we’ll exit the Fells at the Cross Fells Trail’s western trailhead in Medford. From there it’s about an hour’s walk to Davis Square*, from which we can ride the MBTA home.

Difficulty:

According to AllTrails, the Cross Fells Trail is 9.1 mi with 1,069 ft of elevation gain (granted we might do slightly more than that due to our Rock Circuit Trail deviation). If you also factor in the walk from Oak Grove and the walk to Davis, that adds another 3.5 miles to the trip, for roughly 12.6 miles total.

Alternate Transportation Options:

*Folks are also free to make other arrangements to get to and from each trailhead; e.g. meeting us at the Melrose trailhead instead of at Kendall, or heading somewhere other than Davis once we’re out of the woods. Just make sure to sort it out with us in advance, so we can account for everyone! If you’re looking for alternate MBTA routes home, note that both the 95 bus and 134 bus stop very close to the western trailhead, and the West Medford Commuter Rail stop is only half a mile away. The nearest subway stop is Medford/Tufts on the Green Line (2.2 miles away), but the closest Red Line stop is Davis Square (2.9 miles away).

Feel free to email us if you have any questions!