Pawtuckaway State Park

 We had a very light dusting of snow overnight in this area, with more forecast further north, so I decided to stay local and head back to Pawtuckaway to finish the last little piece I needed for my redlining spreadsheet. I had 2 small sections of trails I had half done previously, so I created a roughly 6 mile lollipop hike to get those done. It was a beautiful bluebird day, and while a little windy, the trees kept me sheltered and I never felt cold. I parked on Round Pond Road in Nottingham, where there is a small assigned parking area. There was 1 car when I arrived, a gentleman heading up to the North Pawtuckaway to paint! When I returned there were several more cars, I had passed a couple of those occupants on my way back. I wore spikes for the entire trip, which were necessary in a lot of places as there was a lot of ice. The snow overnight just created a dusting that reminded me of a sugar coated donut and covered the ice in most spots, but I think bare boots would have been too slippery. Unfortunately there were plenty of bare spots that debris got caught up in the spikes, and I did have to stop and remove it plenty of times, but I didn't remove the spikes as there were more areas where I needed them than not! I started down Round Pond Road which leads to the Pond and start of the boulder field. I continued on Round Pond Road and veered off onto a section called Round Pond Trail which connected Round Pond Road to Tower Road. I headed up Tower Road and picked up the South Ridge Connector. South Ridge Trail follows a brook for about a tenth of a mile, which was very pretty with some frozen cascades. I then joined Shaw Trail for the final mile of redlining. There is a bridge out to cross over to Shaw Trail, but thankfully water is low at the moment and there was a log like a balance beam I was able to navigate easily over. I have previously seen a sign that warned only experienced hikers should take Shaw Trail which had me wondering why. I think mainly there is poor cell service and they didn't want people getting lost as the further in you go there is really no way out without having to hike a few miles at least. I found it easy to navigate and one of the prettier trails in the park! I reached the intersection with Split Rock Trail and this marked the end of my redlining for Pawtuckaway. 13 trails total. I backtracked the section I had just done and this time continued on South Ridge Trail, which is a rather steep descent from here down to the pond. Spikes were definitely needed as it was very icy. I took my time and made it safely down. Back to Round Pond and I picked up the road and up to my car. I was surprised how much had melted already, but it was still icy enough that spikes were needed. Pawtuckaway is a gem for hikers and bikers. A really pretty area and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to hike all the trails!

Strava Activity

that's a wrap for Pawtuckaway for me

final trail complete at Pawtuckaway