The Stepinski parcel is roughly triangular, bounded on the south by the railroad that runs from Ayer to Lowell, and on the other sides by Stony Brook. Access is via the driveway to the American Legion Fields, between #13 and 17 River Street. Park at the end of the drive, near the start of the main logging road that runs east into the heart of this undeveloped land. The town bought the 107 acres from the Stepinski family for $3M in 2008.
The west side follows a gravel road to the Stepinski Well, a source of town water from the Stony Brook aquifer. From that road, you can follow a trail north through an inholding retained by the Stepinskis to a long, narrow peninsula at the Great Bend of Stony Brook. There you can see the trolley line to the north and East Boston Camps to the east, but you’d be better off as a duck to get there. The eastern shore rises well above the stream bed, and the aptly named Overlook Trail follows the edge of the central plateau, offering many views down to Stony Brook and across to EBC, where you may see hikers. Both the Overlook Trail and the logging road eventually drop steeply and merge, cross a small bridge, and continue east to a small rise and then to the rail bed, where you can see traffic on Plain Road in the distance.
Parking: AmpleTopographic Map
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Difficulty
Easy